‘He’s got to stay fit’: Portsmouth boss lays in on line for Aussie favourite ahead of QPR and Cardiff City returns

That’s the demand from Pompey boss John Mousinho, as he welcomes the Aussie hitman back into the fold for the weekend trip to QPR.

Yengi is in line for his first Blues appearance in seven weeks and just his third outing of the season, as his team go to Loftus Road this weekend.

The 25-year-old has been troubled by a groin injury picked up in the warm-up ahead of the defeat by West Brom, at the start of last month. That was after a similar issue curtailed his start to the season, ahead of the opener at Leeds in August.

It’s been a particular frustration for Pompey given they were hit by the news of Colby Bishop’s long-term absence, after undergoing heart surgery.

With just four goals from the past six games, cutting edge has been an issue in Yengi’s absence, amid the longest winless start to a season since the war.

Now Mousinho wants to see the Socceroo deliver the form which excited across a powerful maiden season in English football.

He said: ‘It’s been a really big boost to have him back in training.

‘He reported back into training on the Wednesday after the Oxford game and he’s trained every day since.

‘He’s got to stay fit and he’s got to fight for his place in the side.

‘He has to show what he showed last season and loads more as well - that’s the most important thing for him.’

The good news for Pompey is Yengi has been afforded a good run of training after his spell out, after not being forced to report to Australia over the latest international break.

The Blues had a positive dialogue with the Socceroos, with the striker last week not quite ready to be considered for selection.

Mousinho added: ‘We spoke to Australia and they were great with it. They realised that part of his rehab was getting him back and reintegrating him into training over the past couple of weeks.

‘If we’d had a game last weekend he wouldn’t have been right and Australia were aware of that.’