‘Nowhere near’: Portsmouth boss' Josh Murphy fitness warning ahead of Birmingham City and Wrexham clashes
Pompey’s star man made his Championship return after six games out injured, but there’s a warning from John Mousinho over what can be expected from the summer Leicester City target.
Josh Murphy is ‘nowhere near’ ready to start games for Pompey after making his Championship return.
Pompey boss John Mousinho sounded a fitness warning over his star man, as he returned to the fray against Stoke City.
Sobering fitness warning over Josh Murphy
Murphy made his anticipated comeback after a six-game absence with a troublesome ankle injury, with the 30-year-old searing attacking play a big miss for his side.
The Oxford United arrival was introduced for Minhyeok Yang in the 67th minute, and negotiated the final 23 minutes of the clash plus six minutes’ injury time successfully.
Murphy immediately showcased his quality, producing a delicious cross which Makenzie Kirk failed to convert in the game’s key moment. Moments later Stoke won the game, with Hayden Matthews diverting Sorba Thomas’ cross past Josef Bursik.
Pompey fans are now clamouring for Murphy to step up his involvement and start games, with a trip to big-spending Championship new boys Birmingham City up next.
Mousinho made it clear the winger is absolutely not in a position to do that, however, with his return needing to be managed carefully to avoid an injury recurrence.
The likely pathway for Murphy will be to build his training up next week, with a half of action on the cards for him at St Andrews. Mousinho highlighted a balance between having the summer Leicester City target on the pitch and building his fitness is required.
He said: ‘It’s great to have him back, he created a chance straightaway and that’s what he can do.
‘It’s a massive lift and you can see the difference he makes to the side.
‘We need to build him up, keep him fit and keep him going. That today was about the max for him, about 25 minutes. He’s not ready to do much more, you probably would go from 25 to about 45 minutes at most.
‘He’s nowhere near able to start.
‘He’s an exciting player, you don’t have to sell that to anyone at Fratton Park so we’ve been really pleased to have him back.’
No fitness concerns over Hayden Matthews
Mousinho alleviated a new Stoke fitness worry, with Hayden Matthews forced off moments after his own goal on his first Championship start of the season.
Matthews replaced Josh Knight, who was one of the players at fault for Coventry City’s second goal in their 2-1 win at Fratton Park on Tuesday night.
The roles were reversed with Knight coming on for the Aussie, with Matthews receiving help from keeper Josef Bursik for what appeared to be cramp. Mousinho confirmed that was the case after the game, with the problem for the 21-year-old nothing more serious.
He added: ‘He’s fine, it’s just cramp.’