Breaking: Portsmouth dealt major injury blow as former Cardiff and Bristol City midfielder Marlon Pack is ruled out for 4-6 weeks

Marlon Pack has been ruled out for 4-6 weeks with a knee problem that will likely keep him on the sidelines until at least the start of April.

That could see the 31-year-old sit out up to nine games, with the midfielder already forced to miss Tuesday’s win against Burton and Saturday’s draw at Lincoln.

After the midweek victory against the Brewers, Blues boss John Mousinho said the injury was an old one that required careful managing.

However, a precautionary scan on the knee has shown damage to the meniscus, which means a period of time out of the team is required.

Confirming the news following the final whistle at Sincil Bank, Mousinho told BBC Solent: ‘Unfortunately with Marlon, we had a bit of bad news on a scan this week and it looks like it’s going to be 4-6 weeks on his knee.

‘So we have to make sure we get that right and hopefully we’ll have Marlon back before the end of the season.

‘Obviously it’s a big blow because Marlon was the captain, he was playing particularly well and I know that when sides were looking to stop Portsmouth, a lot of that was stopping Marlon Pack.

‘Having him out of the side is obviously something we wouldn’t have wanted but we’ve got some very able players in the dressing room, as you saw today, with Joe Morrell dropping into the six role and doing excellently well against his former club.

‘That’s what the whole squad is about, it’s about having players that can come in and make the difference.’

Pompey’s midfield has been dogged with injury issues all season.

Louis Thompson broke his leg against Bristol Rovers in August, while Joe Morrell missed large chunks of the season before the World Cup.

Tom Lowery has been absent since mid-September with a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, Jay Mingi is currently out with a knee problem.

Saturday’s draw against Lincoln saw the Blues lines up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Thompson and Ryan Tunnicliffe partnering each other in the Blues engine room.