Portsmouth boss delivers Alexander Milosevic warning as he pinpoints date for first Fratton Park action

Although John Mousinho has warned the central defender may not be risked until after the international break.

The new recruit is currently awaiting international clearance following his Friday arrival, which ruled him out of Sunday’s memorable 1-0 triumph against Leeds.

According to Pompey’s head coach, the 33-year-old should be granted permission in time for Wednesday’s clash with Plymouth (7.45pm).

Milosevic hasn’t played competitively for four months, when he started AIK’s 5-1 victory over Halmsted in their final match of Sweden’s 2024 season.

And Mousinho is keen to use next week’s international break to bring the former Sweden international fully up to speed before introducing him into Blues action at the month’s end.

He told The News: ‘We didn’t have international clearance in time for Alexander, but he will be available for Wednesday.

‘I don’t think realistically he will be ready (for the squad) until after the international break. The last game he played was in November and, regardless of the Leeds result, even if we hadn’t got a positive outcome, we would have been saying the same.

‘There’s no point us bringing him in and risking him breaking down, we’ve obviously had far too many injuries this year.

‘We’ve got a week’s worth of training this week, maybe he’s in the squad on Wednesday. If we are happy with him, there are two weeks of training after that. It’s just about training and exposing him to that.’

International break looming

The international break begins after Pompey’s trip to Preston on Saturday, March 15 - with the Blues next in action at home to Blackburn (March 29).

Milosevic featured 15 times as AIK finished third in the 30-game Allsvenskan, which culminated in November.

Representing his last competitive match, he operated as a right-sided centre-back in their 5-1 hammering of Halmsted on November 10.

Overall, Milosevic made 16 appearances last season, consisting of 12 starts and five bookings, before leaving AIK.

Marlon Pack lined-up alongside Regan Poole as Pompey’s centre-half partnership in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Championship leaders Leeds.

Ryley Towler offered cover from the bench, although wasn’t used, as Daniel Farke’s men failed to score for just the seventh time in the league this season.

The 6ft 4in Milosevic is a right-sided central defender who spent 10 months with Nottingham Forest during a previous spell in the Championship.

After signing at the City Ground in February 2019 from AIK, he made 12 appearances and scored once, yet his 18-month deal was cancelled by mutual consent in October 2019.

Now he’s back for a second stint in England, having joined the Blues until the end of the season, offering crucial cover to the injury-hit position.