Portsmouth star Josh Murphy could get even better after John Mousinho reveals secret
Portsmouth fans will be hoping that Josh Murphy recovers from his ankle injury in time to face Ipswich Town on Saturday.
The winger missed Portsmouth’s 2-0 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday last time out due to the injury, and the team looked toothless in attack without him.
Florian Bianchini had an awful game on Portsmouth’s left wing. The Frenchman got into plenty of good positions, but his crossing was consistently wayward.
Bianchini’s performance highlighted just how reliant Pompey can be on Murphy, who has been labelled as one of the best crossers in the Championship.
Josh Murphy has been playing through the pain this season
Murphy was the top assist-maker in the Championship last season and has been Pompey’s most dangerous attacking threat again during this campaign.
What’s more, his performances will likely improve in the coming weeks based on what John Mousinho said about him in the press this week.
In an interview with The News, he revealed that Murphy has been playing through the pain after picking up several knocks at the start of the season.
He said: “Maybe he’s not quite been right this season so far. He’s been playing through a couple of injuries as well.
“It’s amazing his performances have been really good, even despite that, and hopefully the rest of this week will get him right. He played with that ankle injury at Southampton but struggled through.”
Portsmouth must protect Josh Murphy if they are to perform to their potential this season
Murphy looked as dangerous as ever in the 0-0 draw against Southampton. Most of Portsmouth’s most dangerous attacks came down the left wing in that game, as they have for most this season.
There have been no complaints from anyone in Portsmouth about Murphy’s performances this season. If this is how well he plays when he’s injured, it will be exciting to see what he can do when fully fit.
| Josh Murphy 2024/25 statistics | |
| Games played | 42 |
| Goals | 7 |
| Assists | 14 |
Portsmouth must take care to protect Murphy as he recovers from these minor niggles, though. The last thing they want to do is rush him back too quickly and expose him to the threat of picking up a long-term injury.
The Pompey hierarchy must also do whatever they can to ensure the 30-year-old remains happy at Fratton Park. Other Championship clubs were sniffing around him in the summer, but Portsmouth can’t afford to sell him at this point in the club’s development.
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