Portsmouth manager John Mousinho faces a mounting injury crisis as his side prepare for their New Year’s Day clash at Bristol City, the third fixture in a demanding nine-day period.
The Blues boss acknowledged the challenge of managing his depleted squad during the hectic festive schedule, with several key players unavailable for the Championship encounter at Ashton Gate.
“It’s always going to be a tough game – especially because of the fact it will be our third fixture since Christmas Day,” Mousinho said ahead of the Mousinho Bristol City game on Wednesday.
“They’re all a challenge in the Championship – whether home or away – and we’ve got some key players missing, which makes Monday’s win even more impressive.”
Portsmouth’s injury list continues to grow following their victory over Charlton Athletic. Callum Lang has suffered a hamstring problem and could miss one or two weeks, whilst Josh Murphy remains sidelined and is unlikely to return until after the FA Cup weekend.
Colby Bishop required an injection before Monday’s match but failed to recover sufficiently and was removed from the bench. The striker’s availability for Thursday’s trip remains uncertain.
Defender Conor Shaughnessy came off the bench to score against Charlton, but Mousinho must assess whether he can feature again so soon. “We’ll listen to the medical department and the strength and conditioning department and go from there,” he explained.
Márk Kosnovszky also picked up a knee injury during the Charlton match, with the club monitoring whether it settles down in time.
The manager highlighted Harvey Blair’s situation as an example of the difficulties posed by the congested fixture schedule. The midfielder has received limited minutes this season but has been forced to start consecutive matches due to the injury crisis.
“In an ideal world he wouldn’t have started back-to-back matches,” Mousinho admitted. “It would be great to have an international break now and the chance to get a few guys back, but there’s absolutely no rest at this time of year.”
Bristol City have proven formidable opponents this season, impressing during their November visit to Fratton Park. Portsmouth’s away form has been solid defensively, though chances have been limited.
“We’ve been pretty solid, without creating much, away from home recently and we’ll see how it pans out at Ashton Gate,” Mousinho added.
