View: 100% Portsmouth man in the spotlight after fresh injury blow at Fratton Park
Regan Poole is needed now more than ever after a fresh Conor Shaughnessy injury blow at Portsmouth.
Pompey have struggled upon their return to the Championship, winless after nine matches in England’s second tier this season.
They have had a tough start to the season, already playing each of the Championship’s current top five. Therefore, it is clear that a step up in quality has contributed to Portsmouth’s struggles.
However, injuries certainly haven’t helped either, with John Mousinho’s side suffering some rotten luck this season.
And they have been handed yet another devastating blow after the Portsmouth boss provided an update on Shaughnessy.
Mousinho said, via The News [16 October], “With Conor, there is a bit of tendon damage in the calf and that’s going to keep him out for about 4-6 weeks.
“It looks like it’s the same area, but certainly not the original injury we were treating. We weren’t treating a tendon injury to start off with, so it’s hard to tell whether there was something underlying or something he picked up.
“Either way we have to deal with what we have. We have to make sure we get it right and he’s back and available and fit. He will now rehab, he’s with the medical staff and making sure he does everything properly to get himself back.
“It’s really frustrating for us and for Conor. You can probably tell by the fact that when we had him back in training for a week we wanted to get him back in the side.
“He’s such a big important part of what we’ve done here over the past year and what we want to continue to do. He’s a big miss for us.”
John Mousinho handed Conor Shaughnessy injury blow at Portsmouth
It is no secret that Shaughnessy is one of the more important players at Fratton Park. The defender has played just twice this season in the Championship, and in one of those matches, Mousinho’s side kept a clean sheet, one of just two this season.
And Shaughnessy was crucial in the 0-0 draw with Luton Town at Kenilworth Road (17 August). As per Sofascore, the 28-year-old made six clearances and won five of his six aerial duels.
In addition, he won two fouls for his side and completed 91 per cent of his passes. Seven of the centre-back’s nine long balls forward were accurate, while he also provided a goal threat.
Shaughnessy had three shots at goal, missing one big chance to seal all three points for Pompey.
Most fans will no doubt be confident that they would have picked up more points by now if the Irishman had been available. Therefore, they need someone else to step up and lead the backline, and that man has to be Poole.
Regan Poole in the spotlight at Portsmouth
Poole has only recently returned from a serious injury of his own. However, the central defender has had time now to readjust himself, starting the last four consecutive matches for Pompey.
Therefore, fans will want to see him step up and become the main defender at Fratton Park, something which he has demonstrated recently he is capable of doing.
During the 1-1 Championship draw with Oxford United at Fratton Park (5 October), a match Portsmouth could have won had it not been for one key moment, Poole won 100 per cent of his aerial duels as well as seven of his eight ground duels, while completing 80 per cent of his passes, with one of those key.
He did make an error which led to a shot, and he will need to cut those mistakes out with pressure now on the defender to provide Mousinho a helping hand.
The Portsmouth boss needs a win, and keeping more clean sheets would certainly help.
Pompey have a great chance to build on their draw with Oxford United when they play QPR in the Championship at Loftus Road on Saturday (19 October), but Poole will need to be at his best.
In other Portsmouth news, pressure is growing at Fratton Park ahead of a run of “vital” fixtures.
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