Nathan Thompson's summer regime to prevent any potential Pompey injuries

The popular right-back has had his share of setbacks during his career – but hopes they are now firmly behind him.

Thompson, 27, suffered with several problems when at Swindon, including a hamstring complaint which curtailed his involvement in the 2015 League One play-off final.

And after completing his move to Pompey last summer, a foot injury picked up on the second day of training kept him out of the opening few weeks of the campaign.

However, Thompson has worked with a personal trainer over the summer to ensure he is in the best shape possible.

He said: ‘This year I had a close friend come out (on holiday) with me who is a personal trainer.

‘It was the first time I have done that and hopefully I see the benefits.

‘The club set a programme for you as well to make sure you’re managing injuries you’ve had previously and it’s been spot-on.

‘My wife and I got a villa and there was plenty of space there.

‘It was something I hadn’t done before and I was interested in trying.

‘You push yourself a little bit more when someone is encouraging you.’

Thompson is hoping his body won’t suffer any further problems.

He added: ‘I look back on the second day of pre-season last year and the injury flared up.

‘It set me back a little while and I was cursing big time. I suspect there were Swindon fans who were feeding back probably saying I was injury-prone.

‘To have a full season after that and have no more injuries and get 40 games was good for me.

‘It’s the reason why I brought in a personal trainer over the summer – to get the body ready. It becomes sort of bulletproof in that sense and you make sure there’s no reoccurrence of those injuries.’