Portsmouth new boy sidelined for early pre-season friendlies after training setback

Danny Cowley’s first recruit as Blues boss is presently not training after suffering discomfort having stepped up to the full-time game.

The 18-year-old was signed from Bromley last month, where he also missed the end of their National League campaign through injury.

Cowley has subsequently stressed the importance of wrapping up Vincent in ‘cotton wool’.

As a consequence, the youngster out of forthcoming friendlies against the Hawks (July 10) and Crystal Palace (July 17).

He will also not feature in this afternoon’s behind-closed-doors encounter with an unnamed Championship side.

And Cowley is unable to put a timeframe on when Pompey fans can first glimpse the left-back in action.

Pompey’s head coach told The News: ‘I’m not so sure how long Liam is out for at the moment.

‘Obviously he’s a young boy, only just 18, and normally when young players train full-time for the first time it puts different stresses on their bodies.

‘We have to make sure we look after him really intelligently to make sure he is ready for the stresses and duress you put a player’s body through when you are training full-time.

‘Liam’s a great kid, a lovely, lovely boy, he has real power and athleticism, is a lovely size and has a really nice left foot – but we need to make sure we make gradual steps for him.

‘When the club signed him they were aware of some underlying issues to be resolved and we know what they are.

‘They are overuse injuries which can happen to young players when they grow and their bones are a little softer. Sometimes you get these stress responses to the regular training.

‘It’s a stress response to the tibia, which is a weight-bearing bone. When they are young players and still growing, the nature of the constant impact with the ground and running can create a bit of an inflammation around the bone.

‘We are just looking after him. He is very important to us, we’re wrapping him up in cotton wool at the moment.

‘He’s currently not training with us and a few weeks away from training regularly.

‘It will also be a few weeks yet before he plays in friendlies, I would think.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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