Portsmouth boss agonises over how to handle Conor Shaughnessy after triumphant comeback
The central defender returned to action on Monday night after 101 days out with injury
Conor Shaughnessy has taken tentative steps - now John Mousinho is agonising over how to handle the influential defender’s latest first-team comeback.
Introduced for Hayden Matthews in the 64th minute against Charlton, it represented the Irishman’s maiden appearance after 101 days sidelined by a hamstring injury.
The 29-year-old subsequently marked his long-awaited return by scoring five minutes after entering the action and, up until a dramatic finale, it threatened to be the match winner.
Still, Pompey triumphed 2-1 over the Addicks, with Shaughnessy crowned man of the match in only his 16th outing of the year 2025 following a string of injury problems.
‘At some point we have to expose him’
And Mousinho must negotiate that fine line between protecting the player but also utilising his defensive talents in another Championship relegation battle - with a New Year’s Day trip to Bristol City next up.
The Blues head coach told The News: ‘We have been biding our time with Shocks to make sure he’s back and ready to come and affect games.
‘You need to listen to medical and SSC (sports science and conditioning). We tried it last January where we brought him back into the fold slowly, but, ultimately, we have to expose him - and Charlton was his first game in three months.
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‘At some point we have to expose him and hope that he’s strong enough and hope he can stay fit for the rest of the season.
‘We’ve done that with any injuries and niggles we’ve had over the last 2-3 weeks. There have been a couple of players who had been pushing to play, but we've had to manage it and that’s part of it.
‘One of the things against Charlton, when speaking to Colby pre-match, is despite having an injection to try to play, if it’s not right, we’ve got games coming up. So let's make sure that we don’t do anything stupid to put ourselves at any risk.
‘I will see how Shocks is feeling before deciding whether to play him against Bristol City. I don’t know, I’m not sure. We’ll see.’
16 matches in the year 2025
Shaughnessy tore his right calf just two league matches in the 2024-25 season, then later damaged his left calf, sidelining him until January 2025.
Just four matches into his comeback, he tore his left hamstring in a 2-1 victory over Cardiff, ruling him for the next 11 matches, although the Irishman returned for the final three weeks of the campaign.
Shaughnessy was back in Mousinho’s first XI at the beginning of this season, yet, after a strong start, he tore his hamstring in September while chasing a ball down the line against Sheffield Wednesday.
The ex-Leeds man subsequently missed the next 16 games - before making his goal-scoring return in Monday night’s dramatic triumph over Charlton.
‘He dominated his aerial battles and defended very well’
Mousinho added: ‘Regardless of Charlton’s goal, he was excellent when he came on, he dominated his aerial battles and defended very well.
‘We can debate set-pieces and set-ups, but when you’ve got a player who is willing to go and put it into the back of the net from a good delivery then that’s what you get.’