Portsmouth boss waits on Ronan Curtis

The Irishman was clearly in pain as he left the pitch on 87 minutes during Saturday's 3-1 triumph over Sunderland.

Kenny Jackett afterwards explained the Blues' man of the match was feeling his quad, prompting his withdrawal for Andre Green.

It was an unfortunate end for Curtis, who conjured up an inspirational second-half display against fellow promotion rivals.

He netted his eighth goal of the campaign as Pompey reached 51 points at the season's half-way mark '“ watched by new Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy.

Yet the Blues boss must learn whether Curtis will be able to feature at Gillingham on Wednesday (1pm).

Jackett said: '˜I think Ronan said he was feeling his quad, which isn't surprising considering the amount of running he does, he puts a lot of effort into every game.

'˜Hopefully he is okay, we'll see, it's a bit early yet.

'˜He said he was feeling his quad so we took him off towards the end and hopefully he recovers by Boxing Day, we'll see.'

McCarthy has yet to oversee a Republic of Ireland match since his appointment last month.

He replaced Martin O'Neill, who handed Curtis his international debut weeks earlier, totalling two caps.

Saturday saw Aiden McGeady also feature in the Fratton Park clash, allowing McCarthy to run the rule over two potential squad members.

Certainly Curtis would have caught his eye, producing a sublime ball down the line which carved out the opening goal via the penalty spot.

He would then claim the second of the match with a finish from a tight angle down the left after collecting Oli Hawkins' flick-on.

Meanwhile, McGeady was substituted on 78 minutes for Jerome Sinclair.

Jackett added: '˜Typically with a lot of Ronan's play, he was a threat '“ and it was good to see him go on the outside for his goal as well.

'˜We all know he can go inside and strike a ball, but he took that one down the line. A wide man who can go in or out is a big asset and hard to stop.

'˜Ronan's quality was there, it was a key goal for us.'