Latest: Portsmouth boss delivers player return update for Millwall with news on Conor Shaughnessy and Bristol City defender

But the Blues boss has revealed he doesn’t expect any of his players nearing a comeback to be back in the equation for this weekend’s trip to Millwall.

Pompey moved a step closer to Championship survival with a massive victory over Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

That moved Mousinho’s side seven points clear of the bottom three with seven games remaining, ahead of Derby taking on Preston at Pride Park on Wednesday night.

Another three points at The Den this weekend, could well be enough to keep Pompey in the Championship this season.

The good news for Pompey is their injury problems are now beginning to clear at a critical point in the season. Christian Saydee (groin) and Jordan Williams (hamstring) were both on the bench on Saturday, with new signing Alex Milosevic joining the pair in another squad boost.

Conor Shaughnessy (hamstring) is now the nearest to making a comeback, after a season also hampered by a persistent calf issue, with Kusini Yengi (hamstring) out. Rob Atkinson (calf) is the other playing closing in a return, but for all positivity Mousinho is currently expecting to pick from the same group for Saturday.

When asked if any players will be back on Saturday, Mousinho said: ‘Probably not for Millwall. I don’t think so for the next outing. Certainly, for my planning, I think we’ll be looking at the same squad.’

Despite not expecting any new faces to bolster his squad for Saturday, Mousinho painted a positive outlook of Pompey’s overall injury picture.

Pompey’s ‘large training group’

The Millwall match is the first of three games in eight days, with a trip to Coventry followed by a big home clash with Derby.

Mousinho confirmed Shaughnessy and Atkinson are both closing in on comebacks, though Pompey will exercise caution with the return of both men.

That leaves just the players who are out for the season in Hayden Matthews (ankle), Ibane Bowat (knee), Paddy Lane (hamstring), Callum Lang (hamstring), Jacob Farrell (knee).

Mousinho isn’t underestimating the importance of welcoming bodies back into the first-team group.

He added: ‘I think that’s really important. We’ve got players who are close and they are out on the grass.

‘We do have a large training group on the grass. They are not training with us, but they are at the back end of their rehab - Rob Atkinson and Conor Shaughnessy.

‘They are all coming back in decent enough time. We just need to get the balance right, so when they do come back they don’t break down.’

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