Forgotten Portsmouth man Liam Vincent makes injury vow after returning from eight-month treatment table ordeal

Shortly after signing in July 2021, the 19-year-old suffered a fractured shin during pre-season – an injury which kept him on the sidelines for an initial four months.

Yet after two fleeting appearances on the substitutes’ bench in November, the left-back was back in the treatment room and needing specialist attention, leaving Danny Cowley struggling to know when the former Bromley ace would be available again for selection.

Since then, though, Vincent has defied the odds and made a full recovery.

He has featured for the academy and even made a few first-team squads before the curtain fell on the 2021-22 campaign.

That puts him in a good place as the Blues prepare to return to training on June 20.

But looking back on his maiden season at Fratton Park, the defender admitted he wouldn’t wish his ordeal on anyone.

Vincent told The News: ‘There’s no injury issues anymore, especially over the last few months.

‘It (the shin) would get inflamed at times, but now with the off-season it’s more or less back to normal now and I’m looking forward to pre-season.

‘It (being out injured) was really difficult, especially because of the type of injury it was. There was no real time on it, so at times it felt like there wasn’t going to be an end to it, which is very frustrating.

‘I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

‘You have good days and bad days, with more motivation on some than others.

‘It’s a big relief to be past that now, though.’

Upon his return to first-team training in the spring, Vincent admitted he found sessions tough due to the advanced fitness of his team-mates.

Regardless of those difficulties, he was jubilant to be back on the grass and able to put the months of struggles in the gym firmly in the past.

Now he’s fully focused on breaking into Cowley’s first team next season.

He added: ‘It was good (to be back). It was really nice to be back playing and training after such a long period off the grass.

‘It was definitely difficult at first to get up to speed with everyone being in their prime conditioning at that point in the season.

‘It made the days a lot easier, though.’