Portsmouth boss toasts double injury boost - and encouraging Conor Shaughnessy update - in time for relegation run-in
Pompey have been handed a double injury boost - and John Mousinho has also offered up encouraging news on Conor Shaughnessy.
Jordan Williams (hamstring) and Christian Saydee (groin) are both in contention for Saturday’s crucial clash with Blackburn.
In the case of Williams, his injury has sidelined him for the last 10 matches, after sustaining it during a substitute appearance at West Brom in January.
As for Saydee, he has been absent from the last three matches after injuring his groin in training ahead of the visit of Leeds.
In addition, Shaughnessy continues to make positive progress from the hamstring problem he collected against Cardiff last month.
And Mousinho expects the influential defender to return to training ‘in the next couple of weeks’.
Pompey’s head coach told The News: ‘Things are looking fairly positive. Jordan Williams has trained this week, he’ll be available for Blackburn. We expect to be available for the weekend as well.
‘With the rest of the injuries, apart from Hayden Matthews and Paddy Lane, they’re all out on the grass so have varying degrees of timescale left.
‘Conor Shaughnessy was six weeks on Tuesday in terms of his injury, so hopefully he’s just a couple of weeks left on his total return, but he has been out on the grass.
‘We are still at that stage where he needs to tick a few boxes out on the grass and, in the next couple of weeks, we hope to have him back training.
‘Overall, there’s always something around the corner, but everything is progressing nicely.’
‘Not quite as advanced as Shocks’
Meanwhile, Rob Atkinson is also progressing following the calf injury he suffered against QPR last month.
The issue has kept him out of the Blues’ last four matches, frustratingly overlapping with Shaughnessy’s ongoing absence.
However, the Bristol City loanee is still expected to return before the season’s end, thereby playing a role in Pompey’s battle to remain in the Championship.
Mousinho added: ‘Rob is out on the grass. He’s not quite as advanced as Shocks in terms of being down the line with his injury, he was five weeks at the weekend.
‘I think both Rob and Shocks will be back before the end of the season.’
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