'It's major surgery - but we've caught it in time': Portsmouth boss' optimism over Colby Bishop's future

But the head coach is adamant the striker will not be put under any pressure to meet return dates following heart surgery.

Bishop is to undergo an operation at the start of August to resolve a heart issue discovered during mandatory cardiac testing during pre-season.

It is anticipated the 27-year-old will make a full recovery, like other professional sportsmen who have undergone the same medical procedure.

Nonetheless, it remains a devastating blow to the striker’s career after firing the Blues back to the Championship with 21 goals in their title-winning season.

Mousinho told The News: ‘Colby is okay. He’s obviously not thrilled, but I hope that, by the time he has the surgery and everything goes successfully, we will all be really grateful that we’ve caught it. That’s the most important thing.

‘Thankfully we haven’t had an incident where Colby has collapsed on the pitch, meaning there’s something more serious than what we are facing now.

‘I have seen Colby around the training ground over the last couple days and he’s actually in really good spirits and looking forward to getting the procedure done so he can get on with the rest of his life.

‘We are looking for the operation to happen in early August, so in the next couple of weeks. Although we don’t know when he’ll be back (playing football).

‘There is some precedent in this with a couple of professional sports players. Connor Goldson and a Rugby Union player from Saracens (Nick Isiekwe) have had the same procedure. 

‘Both have had really good careers after that, so we’re really hopeful from that point of view, but we don’t want to put any pressure on the times.

‘If it was an ACL or an ankle injury, we’d be a lot more comfortable. Everybody in the medical staff has seen it and we all know where we are going.

‘But with these it’s just a case of seeing how it goes and supporting Colby through that, making sure that firstly he’s fit and healthy as a person, then football after that.

‘I think he could play again this season, but we are not going to put any pressure on that. We are going to make sure he’s right before we think about anything football-wise.’

The Football Association recommends Premier League and Football League players take part in regular heart testing, hence its introduction to pre-season testing.

In the case of Bishop, who has featured 100 times for Pompey over the last two seasons, it identified an issue which requires resolving.

Mousinho added: ‘The heart screening that we do is clearly really important. What we have avoided is an incident in training or a game where Colby keels over and no-one knows what’s going on. We have caught it.

‘It’s major surgery, it’s not something which is usual in football, so there are a lot of variables, a lot of unexpected things, but you have seen the positive reaction to the news and how much everybody is behind Colby.

‘The credit on this should really go to football as a whole. I know that sounds a bit wishy-washy but certainly when I was playing, cardiac screening was not something done on a frequent basis through pre-season.

‘Now the funding is there to be able to do it, cardiac screening is mandatory for all players, so we’re going to catch those sorts of things. Maybe that’s a pat on the back for football in general.’