John Mousinho's delight after Portsmouth handed quadruple injury boost ahead of West Brom clash
Pompey are reaping the benefits from the international break after being handed a quadruple injury boost.
Jacob Farrell, Josh Murphy, Tom McIntyre and Conor Shaughnessy have all returned to training since the 3-1 defeat to Sunderland almost a fortnight ago.
What’s more, the absence of Championship fixtures has allowed Murphy and Shaughnessy to be in contention for Sunday’s visit of West Brom.
Meanwhile, Regan Poole is maintaining his training comeback following an ACL injury, with Mousinho pinpointing Burnley as a potential return.
And Pompey’s head coach is delighted with finally reducing that worrying early-season injury list.
He told The News: ‘Obviously we had far too many injuries at the start of the season, but things are looking a lot better now with key players coming back.
‘We’ve really missed Josh Murphy, but he has been back in full training for a week and, should he get through this week, will be in contention for West Brom.
‘Also Regan has been out for a long time, so it’s great to have him back in the fold, particularly at centre-back where we have been patching things up.
‘He has now been back for four weeks. This weekend would be a bit too soon for him, but he should be clear to play in the Burnley game.
‘Jacob Farrell trained for the first time on Tuesday since his injury, which is really positive news, with Burnley most likely, and Tom McIntyre is back and will be available for West Brom.
‘Also Conor Shaughnessy trained on Wednesday and should be available for the weekend.
‘I’m much more encouraged, we’ve got a lot of training numbers now. On Tuesday we had 23 outfield players, which is much more positive than we’ve had for long spells this season.
‘Overall we are in a much better place.’
There’s also encouraging news on Reuben Swann, who returned to the club a fortnight ago after collecting an injury while on Hawks duty.
A groin issue sidelined the midfielder for the non-leaguers’ last three matches, but he is expected to return to Westleigh Park after this weekend.
Mousinho added: ‘Reuben felt his groin in one of the games he came on in for Havant (AFC Totton) and spent some time out.
‘He was back training with us on Tuesday and we are keeping him here this weekend. Havant have an FA Cup on Saturday (Worthing) and he should be back with them after that.’