Portsmouth hit with new setback as Kusini Yengi announcement made
Kusini Yengi’s luck with injuries has fully run out this season, both for Portsmouth and on international duty with Australia.
The 26-year-old Portsmouth striker has been restricted to just 11 appearances this season and is yet to find the net in four starts, having struggled to regain match fitness amid a spate of injury setbacks.
John Mousinho’s frustrations with Yengi’s lack of availability will have only grown in recent months, with the forward injured while on international duty with Australia last November and barely being seen since.
In fact, Yengi has featured just three times for Portsmouth since his cruciate knee ligament injury picked up with the Socceroos, but this month’s international break has now sent the striker back to square one.
Australia make Kusini Yengi injury announcement
Mousinho will have been a relieved man when Yengi was left on the bench for the entirety of Australia’s 5-1 win over Indonesia on Thursday, but any optimism has swiftly been turned to dust by a new update.
| Player | Appearances | Starts | Goals | Assists | Games Missed |
| Kusini Yengi | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
The Socceroos have confirmed that Yengi has picked up an injury in training ahead of their match against China on Tuesday, and he will now return to Fratton Park for further assessment.
Portsmouth getting their number 10 back earlier than expected, therefore comes in less-than-ideal circumstances, though the nature of Yengi’s latest injury has not been disclosed by Australia.
Yengi injury fears come back to haunt Portsmouth
Pompey have hardly seen the best, if anything, of Yengi so far this term, with his 11 appearances and zero goals or assists to show for them being a poor return for last season’s promotion-winning frontman.
The fact that Yengi has been injured once again on international duty, despite not playing a single minute, will certainly have caused frustration at Fratton Park, as he returns for yet another bout of treatment.
It remains to be seen the extent of Yengi’s latest issue, but if he’s aggravated the knee ligament damage he did last time he ventured off to the antipodes, his season for Pompey at least could already be over.
Yengi starting Portsmouth’s last match before the international break was a sign he could be set for a key role in their last eight games, but the potential of that happening has now been thrown into doubt.