Thomas Waddingham goes under the knife following ankle injury while Connor Ogivlie is also back on the operating table

Striker Thomas Waddingham has undergone surgery on the ankle injury he suffered on the opening day of the season at West Ham.

That means the 21-year-old is now poised to miss at least the next 10 weeks of the 2026-27 campaign as he begins the slow process of returning to full fitness.

The centre-forward limped off against the Hammers at the London Stadium, just eight minutes after his introduction as a second-half substitute.

His early withdrawal was the result of a challenge from West Ham left-back Ollie Scarles, with the former Brisbane Roar attacker unable to continue after initially trying to run off the blow to his ankle.

Speaking immediately after the Carabao Cup defeat, John Mousinho said the injury didn’t look good.

Now, 11 days after the incident, the Pompey head coach admitted the Aussie frontman could potentially be out until the start of November at least, depending on his recovery.

Providing an update on Waddingham’s injury ahead of Saturday’s trip to Lincoln, Mousinho told The News: ‘Tom had surgery this week, so he'll be out for over 10 weeks.’

Waddingham’s sidelining is the latest injury setback he’s endured since moving to Pompey from his native Australia in January 2025.

The unfortunate forward has featured just 13 times and scored just the solitary goal for the Blues during that period.

Last season he was out for eight months with a persistent thigh problem.

Colby Bishop and summer signing Marko Milovanovic are now Pompey’s only specialist striking options, unless the Blues decide to seek a replacement for Waddingham.

Also on the injury front, Mousinho confirmed Connor Ogilvie will be out for a further five weeks after the left-back underwent surgery for a second time this summer on his knee.

‘It's not one that we anticipated, but Connor went back under the knife last week, and from that point he'll be out for about six weeks, so we're looking at five weeks now,’ added Mousinho.

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