Portsmouth boss John Mousinho drops exciting fitness hint over €6m arrival Marko Milovanovic ahead of huge West Ham showdown

John Mousinho insists Marko Milovanovic is ‘on track’ to be available to feature against West Ham next week.

But the head coach made it clear the Blues weren’t going to risk the €6m arrival at Darmstadt despite travelling with the squad to Germany this weekend.

The striker was named on the bench for the first time since his multi-million pound capture for Saturday’s goalless draw at the Merck-Stadion am Bollenfalltor.

But Milovanovic, who is also known as Marezi, was an unused substitute as Pompey went in search of a winner in their final pre-season outing.

Prior to his Fratton Park switch in July, the Serbian had no proper pre-season training under his belt with UD Almeria as a move to PO4 edged closer.

This forced Mousinho to suggest the striker could miss as many as three weeks of action, with the Fratton faithful potentially having to wait until the Championship curtain raiser against QPR on August 15 to catch a glimpse of the landmark signing.

John Mousinho’s exciting fitness claim over €6m signing

However, the head coach has since hinted Milovanvic could now be in store for potential minutes in next weekend’s huge Carabao Cup showdown against West Ham.

And the Blues boss believes another full week of training could see the 6’4 dangerman play some part at the London Stadium in the season opener.

Speaking to BBC Radio Solent following Pompey’s draw against Darmstadt, Mousinho said: ‘Yeah absolutely fine. So Marko (Milovanovic) was available for training, the first day he trained was Friday, 24th July.

‘So he obviously missed the Wycombe game, he’s had four days of training this week going into the game.

‘So there would be absolutely no chance that we would ever at the start of pre-season have a player go from five days of training into a game. We didn’t want to risk him from that standpoint.

‘I think with another week's worth of training under his belt he’ll be available for minutes at West Ham and then go from there.

‘So everything is on track with Marko.’

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Pompey’s injury latest ahead of West Ham

Milovanovic was an unused substitute against Darmstadt on Saturday alongside keepers Daniel Bielica and Ben Killip as well as the injured Harvey Blair.

Mousinho revealed the 22-year-old ‘felt his hip’ in the warm-ups at the Merck-Stadion am Bollenfalltor, with new arrival Luke Brooke-Smith handed his first start on the left wing.

It represents the latest blow for the former Liverpool man during an injury-ravaged two-year stay at PO4 following his switch from Anfield in 2024.

Blair is the latest casualty on the wing for the Blues, with the head coach admitting Josh Murphy has suffered a minor setback and subsequently didn’t travel to Germany.

Despite being initially penciled in for his much-anticipated comeback against West Ham next Saturday, the 31-year-old is still three weeks away from a return to full training according to Mousinho.

This means the 2024-25 Player of the Season is now expected to miss the Blues’ games against the Hammers (August 8), QPR (August 15) and Lincoln City (August 22), with the trip to Bristol City potentially coming too soon.

Franco Umeh (groin) and Keshi Anderson (quad) are also set to miss the opener at the London Stadium, while Ibane Bowat is closing in on his Fratton Park exit.

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