Season over: Popular Portsmouth title winner dealt major injury blow

Sean Raggett departed Fratton Park one of the most-loved figures in John Mousinho’s squad when Pompey were crowned third-tier champions last season.

However, his new life with Rotherham has been far from plain sailing, having struggled with multiple injury issues. This has limited the 31-year-old to just 11 outings in all competitions for the Millers following his free-transfer arrival last summer.

Having suffered with persistent knee problems throughout his maiden campaign at the New York Stadium, the centre-back recently underwent surgery and - as a result - has since been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Raggett’s last outing for Steve Evans’ side came in the Vertu Trophy defeat to Bradford last month and has only managed to register five appearances since the turn of the year.

It’s not just the former Norwich and Lincoln defender who has dealt Rotherham a major blow, with midfielder Alex MacDonald also being ruled out for the remainder of the campaign after undergoing a hip operation.

Speaking to the Rotherham Advertiser, Evans explained his disappointment with the news of the duo’s injury absence.

He said: ‘Alex had a cartilage operation on his hip, which is very unusual. His season is over. Sean's had a little operation as well. You could force him out there, but no. He (Raggett) missed only a handful of games in five seasons there.

‘He's an example of how hard we've been hit by injuries. We've been smashed by it. Very few players have escaped it. Some weeks it's been difficult to pick a team we believe can win the game.’

Sean Raggett left Fratton Park as a Pompey hero last season

During a five-year stay at Fratton Park, Raggett was a near ever-present figure in the Blues’ backline under Kenny Jackett, Danny Cowley and Mousinho.

This saw the popular defender score 17 goals and amass 239 appearances having initially joined on loan from Norwich in 2019 before making his stay permanent 12-months later.

The centre-back was released by Pompey after lifting the League One trophy in May - cementing himself as a cult-hero among many of the Fratton faithful.

And Raggett’s impressive clean-bill of health at Fratton Park is something Evans is keen to rediscover next term.

‘​We just need to get a good pre-season into him and then hopefully we'll see the real Sean. He is an exceptional player. In both boxes, he's a magnet to the ball aerially. We've missed the big fella.’

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