'He still has a massive role to play': Why injured ex-Lincoln man can remain part of Pompey promotion drive

That’s the verdict of Joe Rafferty after his unfortunate team-mate was diagnosed with ACL damage to his left knee.

The impressive Poole will play no further part in the league leaders’ push for the Championship following the set-back sustained at Chesterfield in the FA Cup.

It’s wretched luck for the former Lincoln man, who had enjoyed an outstanding start to his Fratton Park career and earned his maiden Wales cap.

Bit Rafferty is convinced the 25-year-old can still influence Pompey’s encouraging campaign.

He told The News: ‘We were hoping for some good news and it was a bit of a shock to hear this news because Regan’s walking fine.

‘He’s had his knee put into a brace as a precaution and is waiting for the swelling to go down before getting the op and having it fixed, so he’s ready for next season.

‘He’s a lovely lad, now part of our job is keeping him involved and keeping him around the lads. When he comes in for his rehab, it’s about keeping a smile on his face, and, as stupid as it sounds, keeping him happy.

‘His job will be to push us on as well, he’s still got a role to play. It’s not like he’s pushed to one side, he’s got a role to play in terms of helping us whenever he can.

‘If he sees things we should be doing, he can come and tell us. He still has a massive role to play, even though he’s injured.

‘We’ll do our best to rally around him and hopefully put a smile on his face with performances and winning over the rest of the season.

‘We have to do it for him, making sure we are playing well so he’s not missed. We’ve all got to step up, play as well as we can, and hopefully give him something to celebrate at the end of the season.’

Sean Raggett replaced Poole as the right-sided centre-half in Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Charlton.

It represented the long-serving defender’s 15th appearance of the season, but only the second league start.

Rafferty added: ‘Regan has been absolutely brilliant, he has defended on the front foot, been really aggressive at times and is really good on the ball.

‘But we’ve got Raggs, who was brilliant on Saturday. He has played more than 200 times for this club, he’s a brilliant centre-half, puts his head where it hurts, tackles everything, complete warrior.’