Portsmouth boss John Mousinho reeling from fresh double injury blow to take gloss off Arsenal display
Pompey lost another two players to injury during their 4-1 FA Cup defeat to Arsenal
John Mousinho admitted two fresh Pompey injuries took the gloss off an encouraging display against Arsenal.
Colby Bishop handed the Blues a third-minute lead to shock the Premier League leaders, yet the visitors came back to run out comfortable 4-1 winners in the FA Cup encounter.
Crucially for Mousinho, however, he lost both Harvey Blair and Franco Umeh to injury during the Fratton Park clash.
Blair (hip flexor) was forced off in the 40th minute and replaced by Umeh, who himself then suffered a hamstring injury in the latter stages of the game, when all Pompey’s substitutes had been made.
And with an already sizeable injury list continuing to lengthen, it puts more pressure on the existing squad and necessity to recruit during the current transfer window.
Mousinho told The News: ‘Harvey felt his hip flexor, we are going to assess it, I don't think it’s serious, but Franco has felt his hamstring, which is a bit of an understatement.
‘Franco is a bit more concerning, we will see how that settles down. I’m not sure if it’s the same hamstring he has just recovered from.
‘If we had been standing here talking about the game without the injuries, there are a lot of positives to take from it.
‘However, the two negatives really would be the way we defended set-plays and the two injuries.’
Already missing from Pompey selection for Arsenal’s visit were Mark Kosznovszky, Callum Lang, Thomas Waddingham, Josh Murphy, Hayden Matthews, Josh Knight and Florian Bianchini.
Now Blair and Umeh can be added to the list, although the extent of their injuries will be assessed by the Blues medical team over the next few days.
However, at least Marlon Pack and Connor Ogilvie returned to action in the FA Cup fixture, with both appearing as second-half substitutes.
Meanwhile, Mousinho was pleased with how his side performed against the Gunners, particularly in the first half, when the hosts headed in at the interval with a 2-1 deficit.
He added: ‘It was a really good performance for large parts and against such a good side, I was really pleased.
‘We had two approaches, we could have sat off Arsenal and tried to defend deep or try to break or go and press them. Pressing Arsenal high up with danger at the top and back end of the pitch is a concern because they can break with such intensity, they have such good athleticism and are really good footballers.
‘That brought us the first goal, we pressed really high and won the ball up at the top end of the pitch. That’s what we decided to do and, for the most part, it was good to watch.’
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