Portsmouth fears confirmed as injury-hit ex-Birmingham man suffers fresh set-back
The former Blackpool winger has made just seven appearances for the Blues since joining in January
Pompey’s worst fears have been confirmed over Keshi Anderson.
The winger has been ruled out for up to three months after a scan revealed he tore his quad during their pre-season training camp at Fota Island.
At the start of the week, John Mousinho had spoken of his concern that the former Birmingham man would again be sidelined by injury - now that has been confirmed.
Since arriving on a free transfer in January, Anderson has made just seven appearances after an injury-wrecked start to life at Fratton Park.
Now the 31-year-old is expected to be ruled out until mid-October after his latest set-back.
‘It’s not great, it’s not horrendous’
Mousinho told The News: ‘The news about Keshi is not great, it’s not horrendous, but we are probably looking at between 8-12 weeks.
‘The reason why there’s such a wide gap between the two is because we have to make sure we manage him and give him the time to feel comfortable going again and going again at full tilt.
‘Unfortunately it's one of those that has come at a really unfortunate time. He has a quad tear, it happened at the training camp, and we’ll just make sure we are careful with the rehab on that.
‘Initially with the injury there was a huge amount of frustration - and now it’s just about knuckling down and making sure we get the rehab right.’
Two hamstring tears since February
Just 15 days into his Fratton Park career, Anderson tore his hamstring in training in February.
At that stage, he had totalled just 39 minutes of first-team action, following substitute outings against Southampton and West Brom.
Following a 10-game absence, he returned to score on his full debut against Oxford United in a 2-2 draw in April, yet, after a five-match run, he was struck down by another hamstring injury.
Anderson missed the final three fixtures of the season as the Blues secured their Championship future and returned to fitness in time for pre-season.
However, the former Crystal Palace man, who is contracted until next summer, has now been sidelined once more.
‘We want to get him back firing’
Mousinho added: ‘We are gutted about it. Keshi came in last season and made such an impact in the games he played.
‘He scored on his full debut in that massive Oxford game, then had an impact at Middlesbrough, played against Ipswich, then was injured against Leicester.
‘Keshi was a big part of what we managed to achieve at the back end of last season - and we want to get him back firing.’