Defender hands Portsmouth major boost ahead of crucial Oxford, QPR and Luton games

The 26-year-old has missed the Blues’ past 14 games because of hamstring and calf issues.

However, the centre-back is well and truly on the comeback trail - and could be available for selection as early as Saturday, when John Mousinho takes his side to Oxford United for a crucial Championship fixture.

That will provide Pompey with another welcome injury boost at a crucial time of the season, with Conor Shaughnessy three games into his return after more than five months out with calf issues and Mark O’Mahony finally available to return to action following a side-strain injury picked up in November.

Poole returned to training with the group on Monday. Tuesday night’s game against relegation rivals Cardiff City will come too soon for the former Lincoln defender - but Mousinho said there should be no reason why Oxford can’t be a realistic target for the player.

Providing an update on the centre-half, the Pompey boss told The News: ‘Regan trained with us today (Monday) for about a quarter of the session, so he'll build up this week, hopefully to train fully either the back end of this week or start next week.

‘He'll be back and he'll be available as soon as he's done one full training session - he'll be available. Friday he should be available for a squad, if not it'll be Monday.’

Pompey finally looking defensively sound

Pompey have no fresh injuries worries for their upcoming game against Cardiff, with the Blues coming through their 2-1 defeat against Sheffield United with a clean bill of health. They will remain without Jordan Williams, Ibane Bowat, Jacob Farrell and Paddy Lane, though, with Williams the only one of that quartet not ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Poole’s impending return will once more strengthen Pompey’s central defensive options - a department that has been severely impacted by injury this season. Indeed, Poole missed the first five games of the season as he recovered from an ACL problem picked up in November 2023.

He also started 13 games in a row following his long-awaited comeback appearance as a substitute against West Brom, as Mousinho dealt with injuries to Bowat and Shaughnessy, plus Tom McIntyre’s loss of form.

Since the beginning of January, Pompey have strengthened their central defensive options by bringing in Rob Atkinson on loan from Bristol City and signing Hayden Matthews for £1.2m from Sydney FC. With that in mind, Poole will have plenty of competition ahead of him as he tries to add to his 30 Pompey appearances to date.

Signed as a free agent in 2023, the defender is in the final five months of his Fratton Park contract.

For your next Pompey read: How former Fratton favourite Alex Robertson has fared at Cardiff ahead of huge Portsmouth reunion