U’s management duo Mark Bonner and his assistant, Gary Waddock, saw for themselves on Tuesday night the progress the Blues have been making under new head coach John Mousinho.
And there they would have seen a Pompey side come back from a goal down while having several injured first-team players sitting not far away from them in the South Stand.
Like the rest of us, they’ll be intrigued by the latest news coming from Fratton Park regarding injured players.
So as Mousinho prepares to take his side to the Abbey Stadium, here is an update on those who have been receiving treatment of one kind or another this week.
5. Zak Swanson: groin injury
Mousinho: 'Zak is progressing nicely. He’s been out on the grass, too. We did a session on Tuesday before the game, he’s been out on the grass again today. It will probably be another week until he can come and participate in full training. Then with Zak it’s a bit of a strange one – because he’s been in and out and close to being in the squad, sometimes you think he’s not been out that long. But actually he’ll have been out for quite a while. I think the last game he played was the Peterborough game, which means he’ll have been out for just over a month now.' Photo: Jason Brown
6. Marlon Pack - knee injury
Mousinho: 'So today was Marlon’s first day back, which was great. It was really good to see Marlon back as he has a really good positive influence on everyone. He’s given everyone a lift, and the way they do operations these days, he’s back and off the crutches and ready to go. He’s trying to tell me he’s fit for the weekend, but that’s a joke by the way – in case anyone gets too excited about Marlon being back! He’ll be a matter of weeks, though, rather than months.' Photo: Catherine Ivill
7. Reeco Hackett - back injury
No specific update was given on the forward, who has missed the past two games with a back injury. However, when initially asked about injuries, Mousinho said: 'There's no other injuries (on top of the knock Ronan Curtis suffered against Bolton). Everybody is back fit - not everyone yet, but the ones we know are back fit and healthy!' Photo: Catherine Ivill