'Everybody is frustrated': Portsmouth boss on ongoing Harvey Blair problems - and why he's desperately needed

‘Frustrated’ John Mousinho is relishing unleashing fit-again Harvey Blair - and he’s convinced Pompey have suffered without him.

The injury-plagued winger has played just 39 minutes this season following hamstring trouble stretching back to May.

Indeed, the 22-year-old has featured only 14 times since his arrival from Liverpool for an undisclosed fee in August 2024, primarily through injury.

There have been encouraging glimpses of his pacy and direct wing play, namely scoring at Sheffield Wednesday, and the occasional eye-catching cameo from the bench.

Yet the highly-regarded Blair has struggled to consistently demonstrate his talent due to repeated spells in the treatment room, most recently missing the last three matches with a sore hamstring.

Now he’s back training and, with Pompey the second-lowest scorers in the Championship at present, Mousinho believes their attacking play has missed what the youngster offers.

‘Everybody is so frustrated’

He told The News: ‘We are desperate to get Harvey fit and firing. We want him on the pitch, we know what he’s capable of, we have all seen what he’s capable of, so everybody is frustrated, Harvey is frustrated.

‘We were gutted for him at the time (against Hull) because he had come in and scored against Sheffield Wednesday. In the incident when he did the injury, he had carried the ball 60 yards up the pitch.

‘That’s what we need, that’s what we need from Harvey, that’s what we’ve been missing this season as well, with those sorts of players who can do that.

‘There are a number of factors with Harvey’s injuries. When you go through a very, very different programme from the Academy to the under-21s and then try to adjust off the back of a really harsh injury, which came from what was a really poor challenge.

‘Harvey ended up tearing his hamstring and struggled to get back from that, while had a difficult time through the summer as well.

‘I don’t think it’s about bulking up, I want him to maintain how lean as an athlete he is, I just think it’s a case of robustness, getting used to the training schedule and getting used to the game schedule.

‘It’s a number of factors and we’ve got to try to put as many as those to bed as we can and get Harvey back and fit and firing.’

‘Very nearly torn off the bone’

The unfortunate Blair suffered a serious hamstring tear in only his third Pompey start on the final day of last season against Hull.

He was on the receiving end of defender Sean McLoughlin’s cynical 16th-minute challenge as the youngster launched a swift break, earning the Irishman a booking.

According to Mousinho previously, the tendon was very nearly torn off the bone, such was the severity of the injury, with Blair returning to action earlier this month.

Yet after featuring off the bench against Watford and Middlesbrough, he returned to the treatment table having felt his hamstring once more.

‘There are always going to be difficulties’

Mousinho added: ‘Harvey had been feeling his hamstring. When you have a tear as significant as he had, sometimes you get those recurrences.

‘Having been out since May, there are always going to be difficulties when you come back. We had it last year with some of the players that were out after their long-term injuries.

‘The likes of Regan, the likes of Tom McIntyre, they came back and didn't quite fit into the schedule straight away. Sometimes you pick up other little niggles here and there, that can happen.’

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