'I'm always one of them...' - Portsmouth forward provides update on injury ahead of Championship relegation battle

However, the popular forward knows his chances of a dramatic comeback from injury this term remain ‘slim’ He also admitted that he won’t do anything that will put him at risk of another and potentially lengthier spell in the Fratton Park treatment room.

The attacker is currently out with a hamstring injury he picked up in the second half of the Blues’ 2-0 victory over Oxford United on February 12.

On a positive note, the problem didn’t require surgery. But it was still considered bad enough for Pompey to effectively rule the forward out for the remainder of their 2024-25 Championship campaign.

Lang, who remains the Blues’ top scorer this season with 10 goals from his 29 league games played, has subsequently been working hard on his recovery in the small chance he can play some role in the bid for survival - potentially the last game of the season against Hull.

He retains a glimmer of hope that he can be available before the season comes to a halt on May 3. If not, though, he’s happy to remain a vocal presence at the training ground and inside the dressing room over the last eight games of the campaign and to concentrate on making a greater impact next term.

Speaking about his injury on the latest episode of BBC Solent’s Who needs Mourinho? podcast, the 26-year-old said: ‘I’m getting better. You know, I'm always one of them, I'm pushing to be back out there straight away.

‘But I think I need to be real with myself and take the advice of the physios around me that it's obviously a slim chance that I'll play this season.

‘But I'm just working hard in the gym and making sure if I can't get back for the last game, then I'm ready for next season.

‘It's obviously the last eight games, the run-in, it's the games you want to play in.

‘There's a lot of pressure and there's a lot at stake, but for me, at the minute, it's just about being a good team-mate and there's still a lot I can do for the lads.

‘I think a lot about staying up. For me, it's just sticking with the lads and doing my bit from the sides to help.’

Callum Lang knew straight away injury was bad

A player who consistently gives his all for Pompey when he pulls on the famous blue shirt, Lang suffered the injury just after the hour mark at the Kassam Stadium as he produced another one of his famous lung-busting runs in an attempt to win the ball.

He said he immediately felt it was an injury that would put pay to a terrific season at Fratton Park that could still see him walk away with the Blues’ player of the year trophy.

The Liverpudlian admitted having to forgo that because of injury, along with the rapport on the pitch he had with his team-mates and the belief John Mousinho had been showing in him, had been particularly hard over the past five or so weeks. Yet he remains committed to coming back even stronger.

Lang added: ‘I've just went to take a touch down the line and I think I knew straight away, when I was on the floor, I think I just knew (that my season was over).

‘My gut feeling was that was probably my season done. So it was hard, but it's just one of them, I’ve just got to get on with it and make sure I do the work in the gym now.

‘Obviously, everyone knows how much I was enjoying it here and, yeah, I was in good form.

‘I think my last Championship season (with Wigan), I didn't really get to show what I was about. Now I feel like I'm in a space where I can do that and play under a manager that believes in me and a team that I can really work with.

‘I think the lads around me were getting the best out of me and we were a group that was doing well together.

‘That's hard, but like I say, I've just got to push them goals now for next season and make sure when I come back, I'm a stronger player.’

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