Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho has revealed his frustration surrounding the ongoing injury concerns of attacker Josh Murphy.
The 30-year-old has already spent his fair share of times on the sidelines, missing Pompey’s last three outings. Having played a key role in their Championship survival, he was expected to be a prominent figure at Fratton Park this season.
Mousinho has been giving regular updates over the former Oxford United star over the past couple of weeks. He has consistently been said to be on the cusp of a return but so far is yet to return to action.
Unfortunately for Portsmouth, Murphy’s absence has coincided with a run of poor form. They welcome league leaders Middlesbrough to the south coast on Saturday hoping to end a run of four games without a win.
Mousinho Issues Pessimistic Update
This weekend sees the last round of Championship fixtures before the next international break. It appears as if the 2008 FA Cup winners will be without Murphy once again, with Mousinho revealing his frustration. Speaking to the media, he said:
“Josh is still a bit touch-and-go, he’s 50/50. We are frustrated with the nature of the injury and the fact we can’t seem to quite get over the last little hurdle, so it is niggling away.
“We are pushing, but we just have to be sensible at the same time not to make it worse. We will need to look at how he settles down in the next couple of days. Obviously if he’s not fit for the weekend, then he’s got two extra weeks.
“He’s not back in training yet. We have taken him back out on the grass a couple of times, but the ankle has not been quite right.
“With every injury you need to be cautious, but this one has been a touch-and-go situation for a couple weeks now. Although it’s not long-term.
“Everybody is frustrated, we obviously want Josh to get back on the pitch and play as quickly as possible.”
Writer’s View
John Mousinho stopped short of ruling Josh Murphy out of the clash with Middlesbrough, but it does appear extremely unlikely he will feature. The winger is not yet back in training and with only one full day remaining before the game, he faces an uphill battle to be fit. This is a major blow for Portsmouth, who have hit a run of bad form and now face the current best team in the Championship. However, the international break may have come just at the right time as it now gives Pompey an additional two weeks before their next outing to get their key star right for the trip to Leicester City on October 18th.
