Revealed: The defining factor fuelling Chelsea starlet’s Portsmouth Championship return
John Mousinho believes Tino Anjorin’s injury woes are in the past.
And the Pompey boss admitted clear signs the Chelsea starlet is now understanding how to manage his body is behind the push to see the attacking midfielder return in the Championship.
The Blues’ football operation is pushing on with their efforts to bring back the highly-touted talent back in the second tier, after a season on loan in League One.
After a long line of serious injury issues, Anjorin was dealt another significant blow last November when suffering a major hamstring injury in the FA Cup loss at Chesterfield.
That followed on from ankle, metatarsal, quad and back issues the 22-year-old has already suffered in his young career.
Anjorin returned strongly at the end of the campaign, however, to showcase the quality which made Pompey so keen on bringing the Poole-born talent to PO4.
Now the hope is another loan deal can be in the offing for the former Huddersfield man in the Championship next term.
There’s an awareness patience will be required to get a deal over the line, as new boss Enzo Maresca assesses his squad in pre-season.
Chelsea will more than likely require Anjorin to be part of the squad which travels Stateside for a five-game tour ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
Pompey are prepared to play the waiting game, however, with there now a conviction doing so will reap dividends for a player now understanding what’s required to stay out of the treatment room.
Mousinho said: ‘The injury hit Tino hard when he picked up the hamstring issue against Chesterfield.
‘By the time he came back to us I thought he was in fantastic shape - really, really good physical shape.
‘I don’t think anything drastically changed, but I think that period of rehab really helped Tino.
‘I think he got a better grasp on where his body was - and a better grasp on what it took to maintain that physicality.
‘I think Tino’s challenge is that he’s such a powerful athlete - he’s explosive and a powerful athlete. So he needs to protect himself as well.
‘But I think he is learning about his own body, the shape that he came back in at the back end of the season was fantastic.
‘If that wasn’t the case, I would have been speaking about him in different terms and not saying it’s something we’d explore (another loan).
‘Certainly what we saw day in, day out means Tino has put himself in a really good position for next season.’