Portsmouth promotion rivals Barnsley could be without key striker for Fratton Park visit

The striker, who has scored 18 goals in 31 appearances for the Tykes this season, suffered concussion in last weekend’s 4-1 win at Gillingham.

He will definitely miss Barnsley’s next two matches  – against Wycombe (Saturday) and Burton (Tuesday) – with the south Yorkshire outfit reassessing the situation ahead of their visit to the south coast on Saturday, February 23.

At present, the third-placed Blues sit three points behind the Tykes, who are second.

They are currently on an 11-match unbeaten run, with their last League One defeat coming against Wycombe on December 8.

Moore has scored five goals for Barnsley in that period.

Barnsley assistant head coach, Dale Tonge, told the Yorkshire Post: ‘He will not be available this weekend. We have given him a bit of a time off due to the nature of the injury.

‘We are following protocol and it is a case of following that two-week window and then we will assess it as we see fit after the two weeks.

‘It is a head injury, so we follow the rules and guidelines behind that and the medical staff are dealing with that.

‘He has quite a few days off. He will be in today and has been fine. It has been a case of monitoring him as we go.’

Pompey are next in action on Saturday, when they travel to Southend.

They host Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night, before entertaining Barnsley at Fratton Park.