Portsmouth boss left wondering if injured midfielder needed breather

The midfielder has been ruled out for up to four weeks after picking up a hamstring injury in Pompey's 2-2 draw with Burton on Tuesday.

The Welshman inadvertently collided with team-mate Jack Whatmough in the 28th minute.

A scan showed he's torn his muscle and suffered internal bleeding around his glute. 

The clash against the Brewers represented Donohue's fourth game of the season, after returning from separate groin and hamstring complaints. 

Glandular fever also sidelined the 25-year-old earlier this campaign. 

Having made four successive starts within a 15-day period since his return, Jackett has been left wondering if Donohue's schedule was a factor behind his new injury. 

The Blues boss said: '˜I have considered whether we should have stepped him out.

'˜He played 60 minutes against Crawley, 60 minutes against Wimbledon, 90 minutes on Saturday against Fleetwood and then came off within 30 minutes on Tuesday.

'˜It's pretty tough, really, but it is something that has crossed my mind whether the consistent build-up hampered it.

'˜When you're breaking it down, you look at yourself and with the medical department whether we should have given him a breather somewhere.

'˜You assess him in training and he was okay.

'˜But those things do cross your mind and you never really know the answer, to be honest

'˜Sometimes you just don't know the answer until you're there.

'˜You can't just go back, put him as a substitute and that's it, but it does cross your mind as a manager.'

Because Donohue picked up his latest injury following a collision, Jackett isn't sure if giving the former Chesterfield man respite would have made a difference. 

'˜The other side of it is that it was more of a contact injury '“ then the games come when they come, and that's it,' added the Pompey manager.

'˜But it is something I have thought of.

'˜Sometimes you just don't know the answer until you're there.'