Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho has issued a positive update regarding the fitness of injured trio Nicolas Schmid, Paddy Lane and Jordan Williams.
The Championship’s basement side travel to Hull City on Saturday in search of some much-needed points as their early season battle for survival continues. After winning League One last season, Pompey have struggled to adapt to life in the second tier, winning just one of their opening 12 fixtures.
Mousinho has had to cope with an array of injuries which has disrupted his squad. As a result, he was left with depleted numbers for the recent 2-1 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday.
Players Set To Return?
Portsmouth sit four points from safety but can close the gap should they secure a victory over a Hull side that has failed to win in their last four. Speaking to The News, Mousinho confirmed that goalkeeper Schmid should return for the clash:
“Nico (Schmid) should be okay for Hull, it looks like it was a concussion the other night.
“He just wasn’t right after taking the knock to the head. He wouldn’t have been able to play anyway – and he wasn’t fit to play.”
The 38-year-old refused to confirm as to whether Lane or Williams could feature, although was confident they would soon be fit to return to action:
“The other two are short-term injuries. Paddy Lane has an issue with his Achilles, so we’ll see how that settles down, but I don’t think it’s going to be long-term.
“Jordan (Williams) was a contact injury, it was impact, and really, really stiff on the hip flexor. He actually ran on Thursday, but wasn’t good enough to be involved against Sheffield Wednesday.”
Writer’s View
This is a huge boost for Portsmouth and John Mousinho. Whilst the campaign is still in its early stages, it is critical that they start to pick up points in the coming weeks. Doing so will by much easier with a fit squad.
Pompey’s next three fixtures are all against teams in the bottom half of the Championship. Picking up at least a point at Hull would be seen as a good result, especially because they then face Plymouth Argyle in a potential six-pointer at Home Park.
Head of Writing
