Portsmouth boss Kenny Jackett on reasons behind Jack Whatmough's play-off absence against Oxford

The defender became a father for the first time on Friday morning after fiance Demi gave birth to a baby girl.

Whatmough had previously opted to stay away from Pompey group training sessions during the coronavirus crisis, putting the health and well being of his young family first.

It’s a stance respected by the club, who made a conscious effort not to publicise the name of the player who wasn’t participating.

The Blues now head to Oxford tomorrow for the play-off semi-final second leg, with the tie poised at 1-1.

Whatmough was not included in Friday’s squad for the opening encounter, with Paul Downing representing cover for first-choice centre-halves Christian Burgess and Sean Raggett.

And Jackett doesn’t anticipate the scenario to change.

He told The News: ‘Congratulations to Jack and Demi, I am really pleased for them.

‘Jack made an individual decision. Whether that’s Covid or something else, you have to respect what people want to do.

‘I think it will be tough for Jack to appear in the play-offs. unless people get a few injuries anyway.

‘It will be tough for him to turn over before Monday.’

Whatmough has made two appearances during the 2019-20 campaign after recovering from a knee ligament tear.

He started the March trip to Peterborough – the penultimate match before football’s suspension – yet was withdrawn at half-time.

Jackett has been working with a 24-man squad ahead of football’s resumption, which hasn’t included the 23-year-old.

Should anything happen to either Burgess or Raggett, Pompey’s boss can call on James Bolton and Tom Naylor to deputise at centre-half – in addition to Downing.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.