The harsh reality facing snubbed Portsmouth trio and their Fratton Park futures
The winger was left out of Pompey’s squad list - despite pencilled in to return on February 21
Harvey Blair’s first social media posting for precisely a month was short and to the point.
Writing on X, an old photo of himself in Pompey match-day action was accompanied by an emoji of an hourglass, with another depicting an arrow pointing to it and the word ‘soon’.
Wednesday had begun with his surprise omission from the Blues’ 25-man Football League squad, along with Josh Knight and Florian Bianchini. Damningly, despite having two spaces spare.
Subsequently, sporting director Rich Hughes and John Mousinho explained the motivation behind the decision, centring on the former Liverpool youngster’s persistent injury issues.
By the evening, Blair had his own say, albeit a brief message directing the Fratton faithful towards a comeback which is tantalisingly close.
Florian Bianchini and Josh Knight
Certainly there’s little enthusiasm at Fratton Park to involve Bianchini in first-team action again. They would willingly have ended his scheduled season-long loan early, had it not been for the absence of a clause and, crucially, Swansea having no interest in accepting him back.
Not that the Frenchman is even available at present, with an ongoing knee injury having sidelined him for the last 12 matches and forcing the attacker to recently seek the help of a specialist in France.
In the case of Knight, a stress fracture of the back discovered at the end of November ended a run of 13 consecutive appearances for the Blues, having arrived in August from Hannover 96.
Despite a recent scan encouragingly showing it is now healing, there remains the real possibility the central defender may not play again this season.
However, the absence of Blair from the 25-man list submitted last Thursday was for entirely contrasting reasons to his two team-mates.
February 21 comeback date
According to Mousinho, the 22-year-old could be available for the Saturday, February 21 trip to Millwall, which also fits into the timeframe hinted at by the player’s X post.
Yet, tellingly, Pompey are still not prepared to register him at present.
It must be stressed that the Blues’ head coach continues to rate Blair highly, viewing the former Anfield youngster as a raw attacking talent possessing a big future on the south coast.
The issue is his awful injury record - and, at present, Mousinho is loath to register a player who could break down once again, thereby taking up a crucial spot in his 25-man squad list.
In his maiden Pompey season of 2024-25, Blair was classed as an under-21 player, effectively not counting towards the maximum of 25 players, just as Franco Umeh, Thomas Waddingham and Hayden Matthews aren’t.
It has only become an issue this season, with the winger now aged 22 and no longer qualifying for the under-21 category.
Too many false dawns
Encouragingly, Blair was back training on grass on Wednesday morning, albeit a modified session, and has yet to feature in a full session. Nonetheless, he is clearly progressing towards full fitness.
There have been too many false dawns, though, certainly in the eyes of the Pompey hierarchy, who are now refusing to register him until they are convinced he is fit and available for potential first-team action.
The reticence is understandable, with Blair managing just 20 appearances since his August 2024 arrival from Anfield, where he had spent nine years, progressing from their youth set-up into their Carabao Cup side.
Regardless, the intent to include him - when possible - remains. With Mousinho telling The News on Wednesday: ‘I will register Harvey the second he’s back fully fit and available for selection.
‘The track record there tells me that Harvey has had a series of breakdowns previously in his rehab, so there’s absolutely no point until then.’
A player can be registered in a Football League squad just 24 hours before a match, allowing plenty of room for manoeuvre. ‘It’s not a drawn-out process,’ Hughes has previously said.
Bianchini has largely been written off, the likelihood is Knight will be focusing on next season, yet Blair’s Football League squad predicament is different.
And while the winger may be back soon, in order to play Championship football again he has to convince Mousinho and Hughes that, this time, he’s back for good.