‘I’m concerned’: Portsmouth boss defends methods after Shaughnessy blow adds to injury woes

But the Blues boss admitted he’s ‘concerned’ about the fitness setbacks his team are constantly suffering, following the defender’s setback.

Mousinho was hit was another late issue ahead of Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Sheffield United, as Conor Shaughnessy was injured before kick-off.

The defender was named in the starting XI after being out for over a month with a calf issue, but was replaced by Tom McIntyre after suffering a recurrence of the problem in the warm-up.

Shaughnessy becomes the second player in two weeks to do so, with Kusini Yengi currently sidelined after going down in the warm-up before the 3-0 loss to West Brom.

Pompey went through an unprecedented spate of injuries last year, with concerns about the problems derailing their League One title bid.

The volume seems to be continuing, with Shaughnessy watching the Blades draw before leaving PO4 on his own steam after the game.

Mousinho confessed to the injuries being a worry but made it clear he doesn’t feel where they are occurring is a problem, with players also injured at the club’s training ground.

And when it comes to Shaughnessy, Pompey will wait for clarity on the extent of his injury.

Mousinho said: ‘We’ve done the same warm-up for the 46 games last season, along with the 23 or however many we had before that.

‘So I don’t think it (the injuries) is anything to do with that. I’m concerned about the injuries but I’m not concerned about when and where they’ve happened.

‘Conor trained on Wednesday, he trained on Friday and the green light was given.

‘We’re all frustrated by it but we don’t know what the prognosis is because it was 15 minutes before kick-off.

‘We just wanted to make sure we got Ryley (Towler) into the squad and Tom McIntyre up to speed.

‘It’s really, I guess, heartening that the lads are switched on.

‘Tom didn’t sulk (after being left out), he didn’t put his head down and clearly didn’t go out on Friday night! That’s great that he came in and put in that kind of performance.’