'He's tough, very tough': Portsmouth boss reveals Fratton favourite playing through injury to drive survival fight
The midfielder has made 11 appearances and scored twice since joining from Derby
Battered, bruised, strapped up and playing through injury, yet thankfully the indomitable Ebou Adams is ‘made of stern stuff’.
Certainly John Mousinho is grateful for the battling qualities of Pompey’s midfield warrior, who has swiftly established himself as the driving force behind their Championship survival battle.
There were concerns when the former Derby man crashed into an electronic advertising hoarding at Blackburn in the 37th minute of Saturday’s match, requiring lengthy treatment.
Inevitably, though, Adams re-emerged from the ugly collision in a better state than the hoarding, which was initially broken, while the midfielder wore that trademark smile.
‘That’s the nature of his game’
The 30-year-old even competed in the 1-1 draw with strapping on his left hand, having injured it against Hull the previous weekend, turning in yet another man-of-the-match display.
Yet, as Mousinho rightly points out, Adams is ‘tough, very tough’.
Pompey’s head coach told The News: ‘He takes some whacks, Ebou also probably likes a bit of drama sometimes, which he does not mind admitting himself! But that’s the nature of his game, in terms of how physical he is.
‘He picked up a hand injury against Hull, which is strapped up at the minute and he’s playing through it. He then got a nasty whack in the first half at Blackburn against the advertising hoardings and he carried on.
‘It’s the nature of the way he plays. Even in the last minute, their lad (Hayden Carter) takes a booking to stop him going on the counter-attack. Ebou plays on the edge, so inevitably will take a bit of that.
‘He’s tough, he’s very tough, he’s made of stern stuff, which is good because of the way he plays.
‘Ebou’s had a massive impact since he’s come in, he has offered a different dynamic in the middle of the park, that’s the most important thing. We’ve been looking for that missing ingredient, he’s come in and given us a completely different style of play.
‘We know he is close to a suspension, but we don’t want to take the edge out of his game.’
Walking a disciplinary tightrope
Adams needs to escape a booking against Swansea and Derby to avoid receiving a two-game ban for amassing 10 yellow cards in the Championship this season.
Undoubtedly, Pompey’s midfield would be severely weakened for the relegation run-in should the unthinkable happen.
And while Mousinho acknowledges the likes of Freddie Potts, Isaac Hayden and Andre Dozzell have made fantastic contributions to the Blues’ midfield in the Championship - Adams has added a different dimension.
‘He’s what we have been lacking this season’
Mousinho added: ‘Quite possibly we’ve lacked what Ebou offers. We've had some good combinations there in the last couple of years.
‘If you look at some of the players we had in the middle of the park last season, Freddie was outstanding, Isaac came in and did a very, very good job as well.
‘Not so much Marlon because he played as a centre-half for most of the time, with Doz in there. Doz did a very, very good job and has probably been one the outstanding players this season prior to the injury.
‘We’ve had lots of different types of players, but probably that’s what we have been lacking this season.’