Important Portsmouth defender to miss start of season - including West Ham and QPR games - following knee surgery
Pompey dealt injury blow ahead of their 2025-26 campaign
Connor Ogilvie will miss the start of Pompey’s 2026-27 season.
Blues boss John Mousinho has revealed the defender, who signed a new two-year deal with the Blues last month, is currently not with the rest of the first-team squad on their week-long pre-season training camp in Ireland.
Instead, the 30-year-old has remained at home, where he’s having surgery today (Tuesday) on a knee issue he’s been attempting to manage since the end of last season.
It’s not clear at present if it’s the same knee issue that kept the left-back out of action for nine weeks between November and January last term.
However, the former Gillingham and Spurs defender is expected to be out of action for 4-6 weeks.
Pompey kick -off their latest campaign against West Ham in the first round of the Carabao Cup on August 8, which is just over four weeks away. They then play their first game of their Championship season against QPR at Fratton Park on Saturday, August 15.
Between now and then Ogivlie will miss important pre-season training and the six friendlies the Blues have pencilled in as part of their preparations for the season ahead.
Ogilvie returned to Pompey pre-season with the rest of Mousinho’s group at the end of June after featuring 33 times in all competitions during the 2025-26 campaign.
‘Gone under the knife today’
Confirming the news on Ogilvie’s injury, Mousinho told The News: Connor Ogilvie, has gone under the knife today for knee surgery that should keep him out for about four to six weeks.
‘He'd been managing it at the back end of last season, came back this year and the advice from the surgeon was that he might need to just go and get it cleaned up, so that's something, at this stage of the season, it's obviously not ideal, but we'd rather have this now than halfway through the year.’
When asked specifically if the defender would be back before the start of the season, Mousinho added: ‘Probably not. We're looking at a couple of weeks into the start of the year.’
Where Connor Ogilvie injury leaves Pompey
Pompey currently have options as they prepare for the start of the season without Ogilvie, who has made 196 appearances for the club since joining from the Gills for an undisclosed fee in 2021.
Zak Swanson, Jordan Williams and Ibane Bowat all filled in at left-back for the Blues last season when the defender was absent. In total he sat out 14 Championship fixtures last season due to either injury or suspension.
Aussie Jacob Farrell is also back with Pompey after spending the second half of last season on loan at Western Sydney Warriors.
However, his long-term Fratton Park future is in serious doubt having played just three times for the club since his move from Central Coast Mariners in 2024.
Meanwhile, Bowat has been told he is free to leave during the current transfer window.
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