Portsmouth handed much-needed injury boost over in-form midfielder after desperate blow
The Pompey injury latest over in-form midfielder John Swift and striker Makenzie Kirk.
John Swift has handed Pompey an injury pick-me-up after losing Josh Murphy for the season.
Blues boss John Mousinho has confirmed the in-form midfielder’s hamstring injury is not a serious one, with the Gosport lad earmarked for a return against Swansea City on March 10.
John Swift hands Pompey injury boost
Swift picked up a hamstring issue in the first-half against Wrexham on Tuesday night, leading to the former Chelsea man being withdrawn before the break.
The 30-year-old has undergone a scan, with the results showing there is not a significant issue for Swift.
That’s a fillip for Pompey, with the summer arrival from West Brom in good form and playing a central role in the back-to-back away wins at Charlton Athletic and Millwall.
Swift was on the scoresheet at The Den, grabbing the key second goal in the success in the capital before the Wrexham setback.
John Mousinho has confirmed it’s good news for the creative talent, however, who will soon be back to assist his side’s fight for Championship survival.
He said: ‘It’s not too bad for John, he’s had a scan and will hopefully be back for the Swansea game.’
Mousinho has also provided an update on Makenzie Kirk’s Achilles injury, which has kept the Northern Ireland under-21 international out of selection contention for the past three games.
Kirk is not expected to be out of contention too long, however, with the Swansea City game or following clash with Derby County on March 16 pencilled in as the games for his return.
Makenzie Kirk back for Swansea City or Derby County
Mousinho added: ‘We’re looking at potentially Swansea for Makenzie, or potentially Derby.
In terms of other injuries, Hayden Matthews has brought the number down by one with the Australian defender back against Hull City.
Matthews has been out since the New Year’s Day defeat at Bristol City with an ankle injury.
The news is much worse on Josh Murphy, however, with Pompey reeling from the news his season is over as a result of the metatarsal injury picked up at Swansea in December.
Beyond that Josh Knight (back), Conor Shaughnessy (quad), Florian Bianchini (knee), Franco Umeh (hamstring), Mark Kosznovszky (knee), Thomas Waddingham (quad), Andre Dozzell (ankle), Aji Alese (groin), and Keshi Anderson (hamstring) are all missing,
Mousinho added: ‘There’s nothing else at the moment, so it looks like we’ve got through that heavy period of games with no new injuries.’