Ebou Adams update drops pre-Southampton as Portsmouth star's international break cut short

Ebou Adams has seen his international break cut short ahead of Portsmouth's return to action this coming weekend.

Pompey return with a bang as they make the trip to fierce rivals Southampton on Sunday afternoon.

Adams is one of six Portsmouth players who have been in action for their national sides over this prolonged three-week break.

The 30-year-old played 21 minutes in The Gambia's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Somalia on 25 September.

He was then used for the full 90 against Ghana as The Gambia made it back-to-back wins this window.

However, it has now emerged Adams will be playing no further international action this month.

Why is Ebou Adams returning to Portsmouth early?

As well as playing twice for his country this season, Adams has also been used eight times in all competitions by John Mousinho.

That includes 45 minutes in the 2-2 draw with Blackburn Rovers last time out after coming on for Rocco Shein at half-time.

The good news for Pompey and Mousinho is that Adams' return to Fratton Park ahead of schedule is not injury related.

Instead, it is due to The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) cancelling its fixture with Bolivia due to "logistical challenges and FIFA compliance issues".

The game was due to take place in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, meaning even more travel for Adams had the game gone ahead.

The GFF says it wanted to prioritise the welfare of its players.

This will undoubtedly be a decision backed by Mousinho, with Adams now back ahead of schedule in time for the trip to St Mary's.

Which other Portsmouth players are in international action?

Iyad Mohamed, Adrian Segecic, Terry Devlin, Eoin Kenny and Ryan Kavuma-McQueen are the other Portsmouth players in international duty at various levels.

Segecic is in the Croatia Under-21s squad to face Lithuania on Tuesday afternoon, while Kenny is in line to feature for Northern Ireland Under-21s against Greece.

Come the end of Tuesday, Mousinho will have a much better idea of who he has available for the massive South Coast derby in five days' time.

Ever-present Adams returning injury free is a positive; now let's hope that is the case for each of Pompey's other jet-setters.