Huge Portsmouth favourite and ex-Arsenal talent ruled out for season after undergoing surgery
Zak Swanson has amassed 35 appearances for Pompey in all competitions this season.
John Mousinho has confirmed Zak Swanson will miss Pompey’s five games of the season after undergoing successful knee surgery.
The former Arsenal talent has missed the Blues’ previous three matches after suffering the set-back in training during the recent international break.
However, Mousinho revealed ahead of Pompey’s huge showdown against Ipswich Town on Tuesday evening that a decision was made to give Swanson the green light to go under the knife last week.
Pompey favourite ruled out for season
This will force the Player of the Season nominee to remain out for 12-16 weeks, with a return expected midway through pre-season in July.
The Blues boss said in his pre-match press conference: ‘Zak had surgery on Thursday so the opinion was that the issue he had in there - there was always that option of potentially looking at playing in the last six games - but the risk versus reward didn’t balance out.
‘So we decided to go ahead with the surgery and that will be Zak out for the season.’
Prior to his set-back, Swanson had been an ever-present fixture in Mousinho’s side, operating at right-back, centre-back, left-back and even in the engine room.
After Ogilvie suffered a knee injury in November, the 25-year-old rose to the mark and answered the Blues boss’ SOS on the left-flank.
The 2022 arrival featured 35 times in all competitions for the Blues this term - the most in a single campaign during his four-year Fratton Park stay.
Swanson is out of contract this summer, although Mousinho has signalled his intent at tying the hugely-popular defender down to a new deal on the south coast.
John Mousinho on handing Zak Swanson new deal
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Speaking to The News in January, the head coach said: ‘Zak’s a lovely kid, full of confidence and really good in training. He’s been through some tough times at the football club as well.
‘Technically and tactically, he’s a Championship player - now he has added a lot of physicality to his game as well.
‘I’ve always had a really good relationship with Zak, ever since I set foot in the building. He was one of those who played in my first three games, then got injured.
‘He had difficulty staying fit in that first 18 months after I had arrived, but was available for the majority of the games last year and hasn’t missed too many this year either. Despite playing out of position a lot, he has really stepped up to the level.
‘I rate Zak incredibly highly, he’s always had that challenge to play as many games as possible, to be fit for as many games as possible, he’s starting to show that now, adding that robustness to his game.
‘He’s got himself into a better position professionally, there’s always that adjustment coming from an under-21 side. A lot of under-21 players who get into the league then end up dropping out again and not surviving because it’s such a different environment for them.
‘Zak, thankfully, isn’t one of them. He’s come into the league and, while it has taken that time to adjust, he’s not a young lad anymore and can really step on himself now and become a Championship player.
‘Defensively, he has been very, very solid this season, very rarely have we seen a winger get the better of him too many times - and that’s been a real bonus for us.
‘With Zak coming to the end of his contract in the summer, I just want to get as much as I possibly can out of him. Then we’ll have that discussion in May.’