View: Portsmouth must take full advantage as QPR injury news shared ahead of Loftus Road clash
Portsmouth could be boosted by the absence of Queens Park Rangers midfielder Jack Colback as the two sides meet on Saturday afternoon [19 October].
The experienced operator has been ruled out of the contest at Loftus Road, having been forced to undergo surgery on an initially minor knee problem [West London Sport, 18 October].
Pompey have been shy of injury respite themselves so far this term, with John Mousinho having had to contend with multiple absences scattered across the past two months.
QPR boss Marti Cifuentes said: “Jack Colback has unfortunately had to have small surgery on his knee.
“Against Sheffield Wednesday he got a [seemingly] minor injury but, in the end, conservative treatment was not enough. It will take some weeks for him to recover.”
Portsmouth and QPR both plagued by injuries
While there are far from too many teams having to deal with as many injury issues as Portsmouth this season, QPR are missing three key players for a variety of reasons for what always promises to be a lively meeting.
Alongside Colback, Liam Morrison [knee] and Jonathan Varane [suspension] will also miss out on against Pompey, while the visitors have suffered further setbacks with Conor Shaughnessy [calf] and Jacob Farrell [knee ligament] this week.
Kusini Yengi is, however, expected to be fit to at least travel, his presence having been missed for a large chunk of the campaign to date.
Mark O’Mahony should in any case retain his spot leading the attack, having netted in each of his last two games despite Pompey’s largely blunt attacking output.
Callum Lang has been sidelined since scoring at Burnley last month but could be included in the squad; likewise for Sammy Silvera, who travelled with the Australia national team only to not feature for a single minute against China nor Japan.
In other Portsmouth news, the Blues receive a fine after a “mass confrontation” in a recent game.
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