Callum Lang ‘absolutely delights’ as Portsmouth suffer shock blow
Portsmouth were left reeling this week following the news that Callum Lang has picked up a hamstring tear.
The highly-regarded forward is likely to have played his final game in a Portsmouth shirt this season having been withdrawn during last weekend’s win at Oxford United (15 February).
Having hit double figures for Championship goals this campaign, Lang will be a considerable miss for a Blues squad and head coach in John Mousinho for whom the treatment table has simply not let up.
Darke explains Lang performance drop
Before he was injured during the midway point of the second half at the Kassam Stadium last Saturday, Lang had failed to register a goal nor an assist in his last six games, the last contribution coming in the Fratton Park win over Stoke City (22 January).
While the Portsmouth talisman is largely a victim of his own standards by that judgement, TV commentator and Blues fan Ian Darke believes the 26-year-old’s vast number of minutes across the season has contributed.
To Mousinho’s credit, he had attempted to rotate the team on several occasions but found a gulf in quality when fielding what was then a weakened side without the likes of Lang, Matt Ritchie and Josh Murphy.
“If you’d said to anyone before the start of the season that Callum Lang would have 10 goals by this stage, everybody would’ve been absolutely delighted,” Darke began, exclusively speaking to Pompey News.
“He’s been a live-wire, a spark, always looking to make stuff happen. I think he plateaued a little bit in recent weeks, playing a lot of minutes, and that miss at Sheffield United was perhaps symptomatic.
“He’s now injured, having played so much football, and even though his levels had dipped a slight amount, he was certainly nowhere near the point of being dropped out of the team.”
| Portsmouth’s top goalscorers | Goals scored |
| Callum Lang | 10 |
| Josh Murphy | 5 |
| Colby Bishop | 5 |
| Connor Ogilvie | 4 |
| Matt Ritchie | 3 |
| Mark O’Mahony | 3 |
Portsmouth aim to recover from crushing blow
Key players picking up long injury absences are a factor with which Portsmouth have become very much accustomed this season.
Lang becomes the latest player on a lengthy list of first-team stars to have spent time on the sidelines this season. There are summer signings who have not even debuted yet, some who have played once or twice, and then the likes of Conor Shaughnessy, whose vast improvement to the defence with his presence has now again been snatched away.
Mousinho has the tricky task on his hands of ensuring players are not burnt out, developing players into the Championship for the future benefit of the club, and also fielding a strong enough side to do battle at this level on a restricted budget.
The likes of Adil Aouchiche, an attacking midfielder brought in on loan towards the end of the winter transfer window, now potentially have their chance to make their mark for Portsmouth.
Portsmouth face four of their next six league games at home, in an ideal opportunity to move further clear of the relegation dogfight given the Blues’ home form over the past few months.