'We'll always reassess' - Portsmouth boss John Mousinho provides update on Josh Murphy injury ahead of potential Norwich reunion
Josh Murphy has sat out Pompey’s first two games of the season with a hamstring injury
Pompey will continue to keep a close eye on Josh Murphy’s recovery from a hamstring injury as they sharpen their focus on Norwich City’s visit to Fratton Park on Saturday.
Blues boss John Mousinho admitted the Fratton Park medical team will monitor the winger’s progress right up until the eve of the game on Friday, after he returned to training ‘on the grass’ on Wednesday.
However, Pompey do remain sceptical of the 30-year-old’s chances of featuring against his former club, with the Blues preferring not to take a risk on his fitness and Murphy potentially suffering a recurrence of the problem.
Last season’s player of the year picked up the ‘slight hamstring’ issue during the Blues’ final pre-season friendly against PEC Zwolle at PO4 on August 2.
It forced him to sit out the Fratton Park side’s first game of the 2025-26 campaign against another one of the forward’s former clubs - Oxford United.
Murphy was also absent for Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup defeat at the hands of League One Reading, with Pompey’s Championship trip to West Brom on September 23 originally earmarked for his return.
That certainly looks a more realistic target for his comeback, especially if it means the forward gets a full week of training under his belt. In the meantime, despite some reservations, the Blues will continue to keep tabs on the player’s progress in the coming days and will make a call on Friday on whether he can play any part against the Canaries.
John Mousinho’s latest update on Josh Murphy
Speaking ahead of the Norwich fixture, Mousinho said: ‘Murph's fine. He's fine as in, you know, there's nothing too serious there, but we're just monitoring that.
‘And again, it just doesn't seem like it's at this stage worth the risk.
‘We'll always reassess and we'll have a look at it and how it is on Friday. But as we are at the moment, I don't think there's too much chance of Murph playing.’
Mousinho added: ‘Josh has been out on the grass, so he's been out on the grass today, but we're not really quite as comfortable as we would normally be or close enough for him, so what we want to do is probably get him a full week's worth of training next week leading into the West Brom game.’
Marlon Pack surgery update
While there remains a remote chance Murphy could feature in the 12.30pm kick-off against Norwich, club captain Marlon Pack certainly won’t.
He had surgery on the knee problem he suffered in the pre-season friendly win against Brighton on Tuesday. And while they procedure was a success, Mousinho confirmed his skipper would be out for six weeks.
Mousinho told BBC Solent on Tuesday night: ‘It’s looking about six weeks.
‘The surgery went really well, there was not as much damage as there could have been in terms of making it a longer injury, so we’re looking at six weeks.
‘I spoke to Marlon this afternoon, so he’s in good spirits.’
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