Kenny Jackett drops hint over Brandon Haunstrup's Portsmouth future

Although with the left-back injured and the club’s existing stance on contract talks, no imminent developments are anticipated.

Haunstrup is among 10 members of the Blues’ first-team squad whose deals expire at the season’s end.

The club have long stated contract conversations are on hold, with focus trained on maintaining a League One promotion challenge.

That signals uncertain futures for those affected, although Ronan Curtis, Lee Brown, Anton Walkes and Matt Casey possess club options to extend their stay.

Haunstrup has impressed this season, making 17 appearances, yet is presently sidelined with a torn meniscus in his right knee.

And Jackett has intimated the 23-year-old remains part of his plans.

He said: ‘There are a number of contractual situations, we don’t really want to be thinking about those at the moment.

‘Nothing is necessarily cast in stone, I wouldn't say we will never do anything, but during this period we aren’t looking at too many individual situations, it is about everybody working hard for the club and, as they say, getting the shoulder to the wheel.

‘Brandon is a good young player and has to make sure when he comes back he is 100 per cent.

‘There’s enough of the season left for him to prove his fitness and, at 23 with the talent he has, why shouldn’t we want to keep him?

‘But you very rarely give a contract if they are injured, that’s one of the golden rules. Although nothing is set in stone, you don’t do that.

‘There’s quite a number of people in different contractual situations and we haven’t talked individually at all yet.

‘With Brandon, it will be interesting at some stage if he can then go back to his natural side and can keep up that creativity – or did it just sort of happen when he played on the wrong side of the field?

‘That would be the interesting one for me and it was coming at some stage he would have to go over to the left.’

Both Haunstrup and Lee Brown collected injuries in the 2-2 draw with Peterborough earlier this month.

With Brown it was the recurrence of an Achilles problem which forced him out earlier in the season.

As for Haunstrup, Jackett anticipates his return to action in February.

Pompey’s boss added: ‘At least it is a straightforward operation and I think by early February he will be back to help the team.

‘Brandon should be able to recover from a meniscus injury, there is enough time in the season.

‘It will be somewhere between 6-8 weeks, then he has to prove his fitness and get back into the team.’