Portsmouth boss provides crucial update on winger ahead of Coventry and Stoke games
John Mousinho has provided an update on Josh Murphy ahead of Tuesday night’s game against Coventry at Fratton Park
Josh Murphy is closing in on his Pompey return.
But Pompey boss John Mousinho has insisted his long-awaited comeback will not be against league-leaders Coventry at Fratton Park on Tuesday night.
The winger has missed the Blues’ past five games with a troublesome ankle injury he played through against Southampton back on September 14.
In his absence, Spurs loanee Minyeok Yang has stepped up admirably and scored two goals and registered an assist as Pompey continue to maintain their solid start to the 2025-26 season.
Yang is expected to start on the left wing again when Frank Lampard bring the Sky Blues to the south coast. Yet, the South Korean could face sterner competition for a starting berth on Saturday, with Murphy pencilled in to make his comeback appearance against Mark Robins Potters.
Monday marked the 30-year-old’s first appearance on the grass, with the former Norwich and Cardiff man joining the training session laid on ahead of the Coventry game.
And Mousinho is hopeful that means he remains on track to feature against Stoke on Saturday.
John Mousinho shares latest on Josh Murphy
Confirming the latest on last season’s Pompey player of the year, the Blues boss told The News: ‘There'll be the same squad to select from tomorrow night as there was Saturday, and no new injury concerns from the weekend.
‘Josh will be back for the Stoke game, hopefully, unless anything changes between now and then. That looks realistic. He was back out on the grass today.
‘If everything goes as we hope it will, then this is the first time that Josh has had that injury that he's been properly back out on the grass training, so we're pretty confident he'll be ready. If there's any doubt, of course, we've got another week, but we're hopeful for the weekend.’
Harvey Blair injury latest
Murphy was joined on the sidelines by Harvey Blair at the weekend, with the winger missing the game against Leicester with a hamstring issue.
The same issue has limited the 22-year-old to just two substitute appearances this season. But Mousinho is confident he too will be back ahead of the weekend.
He added: ‘Harvey is not going to be available for tomorrow, hopefully for the weekend/ We’re just being cautious with the hamstring injury. ‘