Portsmouth boss details ex-Birmingham City man's injury comeback as Southampton earmarked

John Mousinho has stressed Pompey will be ‘slow and deliberate’ before unleashing Keshi Anderson.

And the head coach has shared his injury frustrations over the winger, who has featured just seven times since his January signing.

The attacker has been sidelined since July after tearing his quad during the Blues’ pre-season training camp in Fota Island, Ireland.

The setback subsequently forced Anderson to sit out the entirety of Pompey’s Championship preparations in the summer as well as the opening seven matches of the campaign.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel for the 31-year-old, who returned to training this week, with Mousinho hopeful the attacker could complete his comeback in the south-coast derby against Southampton on October 11.

Pompey boss details Keshi Anderson’s injury comeback

In the meantime, the Blues will be playing close attention to the ex-Birmingham City man in the three week international break as they ease him back into contention.

And the head coach is adamant Pompey have to be ‘slow and deliberate’ before giving Anderson the green light to return.

Mousinho told The News: Yeah I think so (Pompey will have to manage his workload). We’ll be very slow and deliberate when we bring him back.

‘I think Keshi has had a decent block of time out. Since the start of pre-season we’ve had to manage him very closely and make sure to pay really close attention to what his comeback looks like.

‘We’ve obviously now got the three weeks from this weekend until the next game so we’ll use that wisely to build him back up.

‘Hamstring’s fine, it's a different injury. But any time it’s a soft tissue injury, we’ve got to be very careful.’

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John Mousinho’s frustrations over winger

Following his January signing, Anderson featured just seven times for Pompey after respective hamstring issues curtailed his season.

After initially missing 10 matches between February and March through injury, Anderson would register a further five outings before sustaining a fresh setback just eight minutes into April’s 1-0 win over Leicester City.

A torn quad has subsequently forced the ex-Blackpool man to sit out the start of the new season, with his return potentially being pencilled in for after the international break.

And Mousinho has shared his frustrations over Anderson’s injury issues during his short Fratton Park stay.

‘It’s been frustrating. I think the biggest frustration with Keshi is the fact that when he does play his performances have been very good.

‘Even though we haven’t seen a huge amount of him, he was outstanding in the start he made against Oxford when he scored the goal.

‘Unfortunately his contributions were cut short by injury last season and we haven’t seen him yet this pre-season so we’re looking forward to having him back.’

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