Regan Poole has point to prove at Portsmouth as Mousinho shares injury update
Regan Poole will be keen to show John Mousinho what he can add for Portsmouth after an injury development against QPR.
Pompey welcomed Marti Cifuentes’ side to Fratton Park on Saturday (22 February) and were able to secure all three points.
Goals from Matt Richie and Josh Murphy were enough to cancel out a late Jimmy Dunne strike to make it three wins from three in the Championship.
There was an injury concern which put a dark cloud over PO4 which could hand Poole the perfect opportunity to prove himself in the second-tier.
Regan Poole must perform for Portsmouth after Rob Atkinson injury
The Welshman came on with just 39 minutes on the clock against the R’s after the Bristol City loanee was forced off through injury.
Given how important the 26-year-old has been to Pompey’s success this season, this change came as a huge blow regardless of the result.
After the game, Mousinho gave an update on the defender’s fitness but clearly remains unsure as to when the Englishman will return.
He said: “It’s one of those where Rob didn’t go down and need treatment straight away, so there’s some positive signs there. But you don’t know with some of these.
“We’ve had a couple of muscular injuries and one which springs to mind was Jordan Williams at Plymouth. He didn’t go down, but just felt his hamstring a bit and ended up being out for 6-8 weeks.
“I hope it’s not as bad as that for Rob. We don’t know, we’ll see how it settles down this weekend and we’ll go from there.”
It is fair to say that this poses an ideal opportunity for Poole to get back among the starting 11 and reinstate himself in the side.
Coming off the bench against QPR, the 26-year-old was able to maintain a 73 per cent pass accuracy while having 20 touches across his 51 minutes on the pitch [FotMob].
The Welshman contributed heavily to keeping the Lononders from levelling the clash by contributing with six clearances and one completed duel alongside Hayden Matthews.
Combined with the 20-year-old who won six duels and 100 per cent of tackles, Mousinho could have a positive pairing to utilise while Atkinson is out if the Australian can return to fitness.
Portsmouth must adjust to life without Rob Atkinson
It is a huge blow to be without the loan star for what could be a prolonged period, given how great he has been since coming in during the winter window.
Regardless of his absence, Pompey can’t allow their excellent recent form to be derailed as they continue to distance themselves further from the Championship relegation battle.
| Stat | Regan Poole v QPR |
| Passes completed | 11 |
| Long ball completion rate (%) | 100% |
| Defensive actions | 6 |
| Recoveries | 4 |
Poole will hopefully be a more than able replacement for Atkinson with an away trip to bottom-side Luton Town coming up.
It will be interesting to see how the ex-Manchester United man sizes up against the recently relegated side who have struggled so much this campaign.