adminPortsmouth braced for worst after huge defender blow – but John Mousinho encouraged by Plan B
The former Leeds defender suffered his latest injury set-back in the second half on Saturday
Pompey are braced for bad news over Conor Shaughnessy’s latest injury blow, yet John Mousinho remains heartened by his Plan B.
It will be several days before the full extent of the Irishman’s hamstring tear is known after suffering the agonising set-back in Saturday’s Sheffield Wednesday defeat.
The League One title-winning hero had demonstrated fine form after battling back from last season’s frustrations, when repeated calf issues and a hamstring pull restricted him to just nine matches
With Josh Knight having already been introduced at half-time against the Owls, Pompey’s centre-half partnership was the ex-Peterborough man and Hayden Matthews at the final whistle.
And with Ibane Bowat also on their books, Mousinho is comfortable with the defensive contingency plan already in place as he weighs up Regan Poole’s partner.
Portsmouth boss: ‘We have strength in that position’
The Blues’ head coach told The News: ‘Conor is not good, he is disappointed naturally having worked so hard to get himself into this position. The torn hamstring sums up the day.
‘He’s had such injury issues over the past season and we have spoken extensively about why we wanted to have five contracted centre-halves in the building – then on Saturday we see why.
‘Josh (Knight) came on, Hayden Matthews was back in the squad on Saturday after not been involved at Southampton, so we need everybody at it and we need to have that squad depth.
‘I know Josh and Hayden featured in the second half, but, to be honest, it was a different game than we’ve had for the majority of the season, so I didn’t look at their performance and think anything was inherently wrong with it.
‘As a team, there were loads to tidy up – and, ultimately, one of them is going to be called upon now.
We have strength in that position, so we need players to step up. There would have been disappointment the previous weekend, a couple of players who didn’t make the squad, and, all of sudden, things change very, very quickly.’
Left on the floor in agony against Sheffield Wednesday
The awful moment occurred in the 50th minute, as Shaughnessy ran across to deal with a ball knocked down the line by Sheffield Wednesday.
However, he pulled up right in front of the South Stand, collapsing to the floor in agony, and, with play continuing, George Brown was granted the freedom to make it 2-0, with a left-footed finish past Ben Killip.
Injury-ravaged 2024-25 season
Shaughnessy’s injury-ravaged 2024-25 season was primarily due to calf problems – firstly right and then left – on three separate occasions.
Then he tore his left hamstring against Cardiff in February, sidelining him for 11 matches, before returning to first-team action for the final three fixtures.
Mousinho added: ‘We’ve obviously picked up a couple of injuries recently with Nico, Murph and Thomas Waddingham.
‘Connor (Ogilvie) was touch and go whether he was going to play against Sheffield Wednesday, so everybody needs to be at it all the time because things change – and have changed – very rapidly.’
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