‘At our limit’: Portsmouth boss John Mousinho provides concerning transfer update amid ongoing injury problems

John Mousinho is clear Pompey can not currently sanction any further departures amid their ongoing injury issues.

And the head coach is adamant the Blues have to be ‘careful’ before giving the green light on any potential exits before the close of the window.

Three players have already departed Fratton Park in the summer market, with Makenzie Kirk and Jordan Williams joining Barnsley and Blackpool respectively on loan.

Ibane Bowat also made the drop to League One last week, joining Huddersfield Town on a permanent basis, bringing an end to his two-year stay on the south coast.

There are expected to be further exits before the September 2 deadline, with Josef Bursik, Luke Le Roux and Jacob Farrell’s futures all under the spotlight heading into the new campaign.

Heading into the new campaign, which begins at home to QPR this Saturday, Mousinho is still without a number of key personnel as injuries continue to hamper his squad.

Bursik, Farrell, Harvey Blair, Mark Kosznovszky, Franco Umeh, Josh Murphy, Keshi Anderson, Marlon Pack and Connor Ogilvie were all sidelined for the 3-1 defeat to West Ham in the Carabao Cup on the weekend.

This forced the Blues boss to name three central defenders on the bench, midfielder Odin Bailey was briefly utilised at left back, while young attacking duo Eoin Kenny and Luke Brooke-Smith both were called upon.

Their injury woes were compounded further when Thomas Waddingham suffered a potentially serious setback just eight minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute.

Pompey boss provided concerning transfer update

Although Pompey remain hopeful of freeing up some space in the squad with 35 first-team players currently at PO4, Ben Killip represented the only fit senior pro who missed out on the 20-man squad for Saturday’s defeat at the London Stadium.

And Mousinho has made it clear the Blues can not sanction any departures at present until some of the injured cohort begin to return.

Speaking to BBC Radio Solent, the head coach said: ‘Nothing at the moment.

‘You saw today (against West Ham) with what we put out, that was everything we had in terms of fit pros.

So we had the extra goalkeeper (Ben Killip, the only fit player not included in the squad) but we’re at our limit now and we’ve lost Tom (Waddingham).

‘We have to now be very, very careful with what we do.’

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Who could be available to face QPR?

Pack is the only player currently sidelined who could return for Saturday’s Championship opener against QPR.

The skipper is ahead of schedule in his recovery from knee surgery last month and is expected to provide much-needed depth to Mousinho’s squad.

Pompey are, though, expected to be busy in the market ahead of the league curtain raiser, with the Blues closing in on further arrivals.

Abu Kamara’s Fratton Park homecoming was confirmed on Monday morning in a £2.5m switch from Hull City, with the 23-year-old poised to feature on the opening day.

Meanwhile, Mousinho’s men are also closing in on the addition of versatile Chelsea starlet Ryan Kavuma-McQueen, who is finalising a season-long loan agreement.

Midfielder Jesper Ceesay could also arrive before Saturday after Pompey reached an agreement with Turkish side Antalyaspor earlier this month.

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