Portsmouth boss admits Zak Swanson concerns as Blues weigh up his Fratton future

Zak Swanson’s troubling injury record will be central to Pompey discussions over his Fratton Park future.

The former Arsenal youngster is among 14 players out of contract at the season’s end, although the Blues retain an option.

While John Mousinho has no qualms over the ability of a right-back he regards as possessing ‘high potential’, it’s the 23-year-old’s injury history which is of concern.

Swanson has made 44 appearances during his two south coast campaigns and is ruled out of Saturday’s final match at Lincoln with a recurrence of his troubling groin problem.

The long-standing issue required an operation in December yet, after returning at the end of February, he felt it again in the first-half of the title-winning clash with Barnsley.

The injury previously saw his 2022-23 season curtailed in January 2023, missing the final 20 matches as the Blues finished eighth.

And Mousinho admitted Swanson’s disappointing injury record will form part of the debate whether to extend his stay by 12 months through the club option.

He told The News: ‘I think his latest injury is connected with that groin issue, but we haven’t got to the bottom of it yet. Last week wasn’t an ideal time to really delve into it because of the fact we had the celebrations after the game.

‘Once things settle down this week we’ll see how it is and go from there, it’s something we need to keep on top of.

‘Any issue is obviously of slight concern, particularly when something like that happens after an operation, as with Zak. We’ll have to take it from there and see where he’s at.

‘It’s frustrating because we want him on the football pitch and it’s even more frustrating for him because he has been excellent when he’s played this season - but those appearances have been too seldom.

‘Zak is certainly a player with high potential, but it’s those ones where we need to look at how we can get him properly fit, healthy and fine because we know he’s such a good player.

‘He’s one of those that, particularly with the injury, we haven't had a full discussion on in terms of his contract.

‘When he's played he has been in really good form, he’s put himself into a good spot, but we take everything into account and then go from there.’

Following his return to Pompey’s match-day squad in March, Swanson has largely alternated with Joe Rafferty at right-back.

He found himself back in the side against Barnsley after being left out at Bolton, only for his groin issue to flare up, forcing him off in the 31st minute.

Mousinho added: ‘Zak gives us a lot on and off the ball and has a huge amount of quality. He’s one of those players that, if fit, would probably have played a lot more.

‘However, there has also been the good form of Joe Rafferty, but the two of them complement each other really, really well.

‘Rotating them has worked really well at the end of this season because we had contrasting games and contrasting performances. They’re different players and we picked sides that would fit into whatever we were trying to achieve on that day.’