Shortages, injuries and square pegs: Portsmouth's glaring selection weakness heading to Leeds

As if a trip to Elland Road for their first fixture back in the Championship wasn’t daunting enough, they have just two available centre-halves for the season opener.

Of the Blues’ eight transfer window recruits so far, not a single one is a conventional central defender.

It’s a glaring weakness exposed due to Tom McIntyre still being sidelined by injury, Regan Poole yet to return to full training following his ACL, while Sean Raggett has departed.

In addition, triallist Jamal Baptiste is no longer at Fratton Park, despite John Mousinho revealing he would be interested in bringing the former West Ham and Manchester City defender back.

That leaves Conor Shaughnessy and Ryley Towler as the choice to combat Leeds’ attacking threat.

Daniel Farke’s men lost last season’s play-off final at Wembley and are unquestionably among the favourites for automatic promotion to the Premier League this time around. Pompey couldn’t face a tougher baptism.

Regardless of how highly-regarded Towler may be, he made just three league starts in the League One title season, while wasn’t even included in six of the last seven squads.

Admittedly, the 22-year-old turned in a man-of-the-match display at Lincoln in the final match of the campaign, although promotion and the league had already been achieved by that stage.

Now the talented Towler will be challenged to step up to the Championship and help shackle Patrick Bamford, Georginio Rutter, Joel Piroe and Co.

It’s a likely pairing which would see Shaughnessy switched to the right-sided centre-half, having won Players’ Player of the Season in recognition of consistently outstanding displays operating on the left.

The alternative Elland Road selection could consist of right-backs Zak Swanson or Jordan Williams once again pressed into action as emergency central defenders, as previously witnessed during this pre-season. Incidentally, Pompey lost on both occasions.

Swanson served there in the second 60 minutes against Wycombe, partnering Baptiste, with Mousinho afterwards singling him out as ‘outstanding’ in the 4-0 defeat.

At Charlton, Williams was entrusted with the responsibility, partnering Shaughnessy for the full 90 minutes, albeit a new-look partnership which looked incredibly shaky in the 2-0 loss.

Williams largely featured at Barnsley on the right of a back three last season, rather than in his favoured right-back role. However, he rarely occupied a back two - and it showed.

For a newcomer who has encouragingly caught the eye in pre-season as an attacking right-back, even netting against Bognor, it was surprising to see him serve at centre-half at The Valley.

Then when Towler was introduced from the bench in the 65th minute, it was in place of Connor Ogilvie at left-back.

At MK Dons, there was even the curious sight of midfielder Ben Stevenson spending the last 11 minutes at centre-half alongside Towler, after being introduced from the bench to replace Shaughnessy.

Pompey can’t even switch Connor Ogilvie there, as in the past, particularly under Danny Cowley, with the only other left-back, Jacob Farrell, currently injured.

Certainly it’s a position which desperately requires strengthening during the final three weeks of the transfer window, a fact acknowledged by Mousinho and sporting director Rich Hughes.

Although, conceivably, that bit of essential business could arrive too late for Saturday. Welcome back to the Championship. Pompey.