Second time lucky: How Portsmouth injury jinx wrecked earlier move for exciting summer transfer

The 18-year-old arrived at Fratton Park from AFC Sudbury last week for an undisclosed fee, having been tracked since the start of last season.

However, according to his former Sudbury Academy manager, the midfielder would have arrived in January had he not sustained an injury on the third day of a November trial with the Blues.

Craig Power has revealed Swann damaged his knee after spending time at the Hilsea training ground during that international break, ruling him out for at least two-and-a-half months.

Not only did it delay his Pompey signing, but also robbed the youngster of the chance to represent England College’s National Team on a tour to Italy following a maiden call-up weeks earlier.

The irony of a triallist also collecting an injury during a campaign which saw the Blues robbed of 15 players at one point won’t be lost on the Fratton faithful.

Still, Swann is now a Blues player - and Power has high hopes for his progress.

Sudbury’s Academy boss told The News: ‘Reuben was doing really well this season, before suffering a bit of a knock while on trial at Pompey.

‘He came down for a week during the November international break, only to pick up an injury to the knee on the third day.

‘That took a lot of rehab, keeping him out for two-and-a-half months or more. Reuben really struggled with that early on, but worked incredibly hard with the physio to get back to where he wants to be.

‘At the time he had just been called up for the England College’s National Team squad, but unfortunately couldn’t play because of his injury, which is a bit unlucky.

‘He had never represented them before, so that’s really sad for the lad. They go on a big tour to Italy every year, it’s like a Six Nations rugby format, and unfortunately he had to miss out.

‘In truth, Reuben would have probably signed for Pompey in January, but it made no sense to bring in an injured player, so everyone had to wait for him to return to full fitness.

‘Credit to the work our physio put in, though, alongside the Pompey guys, who worked together and liaised with one another to make sure Reuben recovered - and now Pompey have signed him.’

Swann’s injury also restricted his involvement in Sudbury’s first-team having made the breakthrough.

Still, he featured seven times and scored twice for the Southern League Southern Central side last season, while returned from injury in time to line-up in the Academy’s English Colleges FA National Cup 3-0 triumph against Telford in May.

Power added: ‘When Reuben hits a ball, it stays hit! He strikes it really cleanly.

‘He can run past people with the ball, which is unique, scores goals from midfield, and is very good with finishing outside the box. He’s a proper whole-hearted player.

‘In the Academy, he played as a more advanced midfielder, such as an 8 or 10. We even played him centre-forward in the National Cup final because he probably wasn’t as sharp after the lengthy lay-off and we felt we could get him close to the opposition goal.

‘Reuben’s a really good, mature lad who has worked really hard for an opportunity. He certainly won’t waste a moment.’