Portsmouth manager John Mousinho has stated that his reasoning for taking off Joe Morrell in their game against Fleetwood on Saturday was injury related.
In a game which was top of the table vs bottom, league-leaders Portsmouth would run out as winners, yet would only beat the Cod Army 1-0 in what wasn’t one of the most convincing victories.
That being said, Mousinho’s men still completed the task at hand and preserved their lead at the top of the table. Although second-placed Peterborough would win against Shrewsbury, Bolton Wanderers would lose to Leyton Orient and Derby County would only manage a draw against Lincoln City, to make it a very successful day for Portsmouth.
Having lost their last two league matches prior, a win was very much needed to get back on track, and that is exactly what Pompey would do. Though there are some worries about the current depth of the squad as well as the lack of January signings, Portsmouth ultimately do still sit at the top of the table.
They were however dealt a bit of a blow, with the news of midfielder Joe Morrell being forced off with injury during the win. Having gone down in the 36th minute after a late tackle, the midfielder would make it to the break prior to be taken off at half-time.
Morrell has been ever-present in the middle of the park for Pompey this year and an injury to the midfielder would have implications on their chances of promotion. Having already lost loanee Alex Robertson to injury, fans will be hoping that the decision to take off Morrell on Saturday was only precautionary.
Speaking to The News after the victory, Mousinho said:
‘It was a really bad challenge and I’m not entirely sure how bad it is for Joe. I don’t actually know what it is either, to be honest, because of the message that he was going to have to come off at half-time.
‘Joe tried to play on, but knew he was done after 38-39 minutes. He said he’d go on until half-time, which then included five minutes of time added-on, so fair play to him.
‘He took the yellow when they were breaking and it would have been a conversation at half-time to stay sensible and see how the game goes.
‘But that wasn’t the reason why he came off, it’s the injury.’
Writer’s View
Losing Morrell for a significant spell of time could really hamper Portsmouth’s title chances let alone their promotion chances. News on the extent of the injury will no doubt come out this week but it is certainly an inconvenience given the depth of the position.
Although it may have only been precautionary, it is still a worry. With not long left in the transfer window, Mousinho must act sooner rather than later in order to get the players he wants in the positions which the club need. It appears that the middle of the park may just be the one in most need of addressing now.
Senior Editor
