Conor Shaughnessy reveals truth over Mousinho bust-up talk and details Portsmouth injury anguish

And the returning defender has responded to the talk of a bust-up between him and John Mousinho for the first time, as the conspiracy theories swirled through his five-month lay-off.

Shaughnessy gave the Blues’ defensive options a massive boost with a return to action against Millwall on Tuesday night, with the 28-year-old afforded a huge ovation after his 78th-minute introduction.

The League One champion has been hindered by a recurring calf problem, which has limited Shaughnessy to just two appearances after playing a key role in helping Pompey reach the Championship.

The troublesome nature of the issue and getting to the bottom of the cause of the problem made for a testing period for the Irishman, with Shaughnessy admitting it’s a tough time psychologically.

Shaughnessy said: ‘It’s been a frustrating few months, with the setbacks and initially thinking it was a short-term injury and it to then hang for such a long time.

‘It was difficult to deal with, but it was a great feeling to be back out there.

‘I loved the reception from the fans, that was a nice touch, Hopefully I can contribute more and more now in the final part of the season.

‘It’s definitely been tough mentally. It’s been the toughest injury I’ve had to get over. I kept on thinking I’m a couple of weeks away here, and then it kept on being put back and put back.

‘It would’ve been easier in a way if I was told at the start I was going to be out for five months. That wasn’t the case though because it was a complex injury with a couple of setbacks. That’s how it goes, but it was very difficult mentally.

Mousinho ‘bust-up’

Shaughnessy’s lay-off has been marked with a spate of rumours and speculation over the reason for his absence, with one theory a bust-up with Mousinho was keeping the former Reading and Leeds man on the sidelines.

The man who scored the goal which earned the title against Barnsley in April has seen the talk - and looked upon some of the wild speculation with amusement.

Shaughnessy added: ‘To be honest, it’s been a bit of light entertainment for me over the past few months reading the different theories. I don’t know what you can say about them, to be honest, other than they were absolute nonsense!

‘It’s just great to be back from injury now, so there will hopefully be no more of that. I suppose there’s the positive spin of people asking why I’m not playing, but the main thing is I’m back now - and I’m ready to go again.’