'He felt a pop': Portsmouth boss' double injury fear after late Oxford United heartbreak

John Mousinho has revealed ‘concerns’ over Joe Morrell after a night which signalled a double injury set-back for the Blues.

The midfielder was forced off in the 34th minute against Oxford United with a knee problem, having gone down near the halfway line.

Terry Devlin had earlier injured his right shoulder during an aerial challenge against Greg Leigh, yet managed to continue in the 2-2 draw.

However, he was brought off in the 62nd minute for Callum Lang, with John Mousinho recognising it was impacting the makeshift right-back’s performance.

Pompey now face an anxious wait to discover the extent of the pair’s injuries, yet, in the case of Morrell in particular, there are fears it could be a serious one.

Mousinho told The News: ‘I’m not sure with Joe, he felt a pop at the back of his knee in the first half and obviously had to come off, so we’ll see how he is over the next couple of days.

‘That’s a concern, it always is with knee injuries. They always can be when you don’t know what they are.

‘Terry has hurt his shoulder, that was one of the reasons we brought him off, he was struggling a bit, he couldn't take throw-ins.

‘His general play was fine, but I just saw a couple of moments where I thought it was best to protect him and bring him off. He seems okay now, but we’ll see how that settles down, it might be a sore one.

‘The shoulder didn’t pop out, it wasn’t dislocated, but he’s taken a fairly hefty whack on it.’

Marlon Pack had returned from illness to start at the Kassam Stadium, yet finished the game with Tom Lowery alongside him following Morrell’s exit.

Morrell has made 31 appearances for the Blues this season, on occasions captaining them, including Saturday’s 1-0 victory at Port Vale.