Josh Murphy sets Portsmouth return game target after Championship season-ending surgery
Pompey’s star man has his eyes on the London Stadium for a fitness return, as he explains why he has a chance of being back for the Carabao Cup clash.
Josh Murphy has set his sights on a return to first-team action for the trip to West Ham in three weeks’ time.
Pompey’s star man has explained how taking the decision to call time on his Championship season prematurely has given him the chance to be back in action for the new campaign.
Murphy is now stepping up his comeback from groin surgery, after going under the knife in April ahead of the season’s finale against Birmingham City.
That curtailed a tough season for the winger who had a phenomenal first campaign at Fratton Park, returning 21 goal contributions and picking up player-of-the-season plaudits.
Murphy played through pain for his side after suffering a fractured metatarsal at Swansea City in December.
His season was expected to be over when undergoing surgery, but Murphy surprisingly returned with Championship survival on the line before later having a groin op.
Now things are on course for the significant boost of his return for a maiden trip to the London Stadium.
Murphy said: ‘I’m dropping in and out of training at the moment, so I’m nearly back in full team training.
‘Then, come the back of pre-season I’ll be back into games. Then, all things being well, I should be available for the West Ham game.’
Murphy will now be targeting a clear run of fitness in his third season at Fratton Park, with the 31-year-old settled in the area with his young family.
He explained taking the decision to undergo surgery promptly when safety was secured has given him a good chance of hitting the ground running next term.
Murphy added: ‘The operation was to sort out a groin issue, which I’ve had since this time last year.
‘I’d been playing through that up until I broke the toe. I broke the toe at Swansea and we were hoping it would be a relatively quick turnaround, but it ended up being 16 weeks. That was annoying.
‘I came back and still had the pain and discomfort in my groin, once the toe had healed.
‘It just made sense to get the operation done. I wanted to wait until the season was fully done, but that recovery would have lingered a bit too long into pre-season.
‘I would’ve missed the start of the season, so it made sense to do it when I did and I’m on schedule to be fit and available for when the season starts.’