£1m man hands Portsmouth injury boost as long-awaited comeback nears
Josh Knight has amassed 14 appearances for Pompey following his £1m arrival in August.
John Mousinho is expecting Josh Knight to feature for Pompey again before the season’s climax.
And the Blues boss has pencilled in the 28-year-old’s return date as his three-and-a-half month injury lay-off looks to be coming to an end.
It’s been a frustrating maiden campaign on the south coast for the centre-back, who made the £1m move from German outfit Hannover 96 in August.
Knight amassed 14 appearances during the first half of the season, which saw him partner Regan Poole following Conor Shaughnessy’s hamstring blow in September.
After becoming a regular fixture in Mousinho’s backline in the opening months, the centre-back sustained back bruising in late November.
However, scans later revealed a stress fracture in the back, forcing him to remain sidelined for an extended period, with his last showing coming during the 1-0 defeat to Bristol City at Fratton Park.
£1m hands Pompey injury pick-me-up
Although Mousinho claimed it would be unlikely to see the ex-Peterborough United man be back in action before the season’s climax, that picture now appears to have changed.
The Blues boss has declared the defender is four weeks from a potential return, with that date expected to fall on Pompey's trip promotion-chasing Middlesbrough on April 11.
In a brief update, Mousinho told The News in his pre-Derby County press conference: ‘It’s not season over for him, we’re probably looking at another four weeks.’
Should Knight complete his comeback after the international break, he could still be in line to play some part in the Blues’ fight for survival.
Pompey do have Regan Poole and Conor Shaughnessy also returning from the sidelines, along with Hayden Matthews, who had missed almost two months of action due to an ankle issue.
Meanwhile, Madiodio Dia was handed his first start on Tuesday evening, while Ibane Bowat has been a regular fixture on the bench.
John Mousinho on Josh Knight’s back injury
Given the nature of Knight’s injury, the centre-back was unable to do any work to maintain his fitness during his absence.
He said: ‘There’s a possibility of that (his season is over), but we’re seeing if we can get him back with four or five games to play.
‘It’s pretty generic rule of thumb, but you work off a 1:4 ratio of how long you’ve been out for.
‘If you’ve been out for four weeks you probably need at least a week to build back up, but with Josh he’s been completely off his feet for eight weeks - that’s the difference between this and most other injuries.
‘The other injuries, with return to play, once they’re back and training they’ve probably already been on the training pitch for a couple of weeks and been in the gym active for a couple of weeks. Josh hasn’t had that.
‘It’s been a complete deactivation for him, which means it will probably match up 1:1 with the build-up to return to play.
‘But there may be four or five games at the back end of the season if his recovery is accelerated, plus we have the Ipswich game to work out.’