They're back: The Portsmouth injured 13 bidding to boost Blues with welcome pre-season return

Pompey report back on Thursday amid hope that time has been a great healer for their 13 walking wounded.

John Mousinho’s playing squad are scheduled to undergo two days of testing ahead of the return for pre-season training on Monday (June 29).

It will also offer an opportunity for a fresh head count of those occupying the treatment room, with 12 absent through injury for the Championship finale against Birmingham.

Since then Hayden Matthews has joined their number, after collecting an ankle issue during Australia’s pre-tournament training camp last month ahead of the 2026 World Cup finals.

Still, it has been seven weeks since the 1-1 draw against Birmingham clinched Mousinho’s men an 18th-placed finish, allowing players precious close season time to recover.

Not good news for Zak Swanson

Certainly Colby Bishop (hamstring) and Harvey Blair (unspecified) are expected to report to the training ground on Thursday with clean bills of health, having been left out of the action on the final day as a precaution.

Although Josh Knight’s long-term back problem has sidelined him from first-team action since November, he had returned to Blues training just before the season’s end.

Elsewhere, John Swift was forced out of the action against Birmingham after 21 minutes, so the extent of that injury remains to be seen, while the calf damaged by Josef Bursik at Stoke was expected to keep him out for up to six weeks, which have now lapsed in theory.

There’s not such great news on Zak Swanson, though, irrespective of not having yet signed a new Pompey deal, with negotiations continuing over the summer.

The full-back underwent an operation on his right knee at the start of April following a meniscus tear which he had been playing through, ruling him out of the remaining eight matches.

At the time, Mousinho anticipated Swanson would miss up to 16 weeks - four months - which would put his potential return at early August, after the 2026-27 season had started.

The diagnosis is even worse for Mark Kosznovszky, who isn’t expected to return from his ACL until October/November time, having suffered the awful injury in December against Charlton.

Josh Murphy’s ‘small procedure’

In the case of Josh Murphy, he was absent against Birmingham after going under the surgeon’s knife to repair a groin tear which had affected him during an injury-hit campaign.

Described at the time by the popular winger as a ‘small procedure’, he told The News he was targeting a return for pre-season in June, albeit that was seven weeks ago. We will soon learn whether he is on track.

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Terry Devlin and Keshi Anderson both sustained hamstring injuries in the opening 17 minutes against Leicester in April. Potentially, it could put them on the same timeframe to recover.

Certainly Devlin was still unavailable for Northern Ireland’s friendlies against Guinea and France earlier this month, albeit happening at least two weeks before Pompey report back for duty.

Considering it was a second hamstring tear for Anderson during a short time at Fratton Park consisting of just seven appearances, the Blues may be slightly more cautious over handling his potential return.

Then there’s Franco Umeh, who underwent an operation in January on the troublesome hamstring issue which has blighted his Pompey career since joining in September 2025.

The latest set-back arrived after spending 44 minutes on the pitch against Arsenal in the FA Cup third round tie, having come off the bench to replace the injured Harvey Blair.

Considering surgery was six months ago, there could be every chance the former Palace youngster can be involved on the first day of pre-season, having been eased into training at the tail-end of last term.

Australian pair sidelined yet again

Finally, there are Australian duo Matthews and Jacob Farrell, who may once have harboured hopes of representing their country at the World Cup this summer, but for repeated injury.

Matthews completed the season with Pompey, starting their final two Championship matches and even being involved in the build up for Adrian Segecic’s leveller against Birmingham.

However, within a fortnight, he suffered a problem with his ankle while training with the Socceroos - and subsequently missed out on selection for the 26-strong squad for the World Cup finals.

As for Farrell, who spent the second half of the season back in the A-League, he suffered a recurrence of his groin problem while on loan with Western Sydney Warriors.

Having played regularly until that point, usually in the centre of defence, it’s another blow for the Aussie, who has totalled three appearances in an injury-plagued two years on the south coast.

There were 12 players injured at the start of May, plus Matthews has joined them since. We wait with great interest to see how many are involved when Pompey’s 2026-27 pre-season kicks off.

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