'Absolutely no point': Portsmouth boss John Mousinho's hard-line stance over Harvey Blair's squad spot
The winger has been restricted to just eight Blues appearances this season - and 20 overall since arriving in August 2024
Harvey Blair will not be registered for Pompey until the winger has proven he is ‘fit and available’.
That’s the blunt message from John Mousinho, who is adamant the Blues cannot take any risks on a player burdened with a worrying injury history.
The head coach remains a fan of the 22-year-old, who has made eight appearances this season, including two Championship starts.
Yet Blair will not be included in their 25-man Football League squad until he has returned from his hip flexor injury - with the February 21 trip to Millwall pencilled in as a potential comeback.
It’s a hard-line stance from Mousinho, yet one he feels is entirely necessary with player spots restricted.
He told The News: ‘I will register Harvey the second he’s back fully fit and available for selection.
‘The track record there tells me that Harvey has had a series of breakdowns previously in his rehab, so there’s absolutely no point until then.
‘We could register Harvey today, we can register Harvey on Friday if needed to. He’s not going to be ready for Sheffield United, but we will take a view that, if he’s going to be ready for Millwall, then we’ll register him before then should we feel it’s the right thing to do.
‘I don’t know how his fitness will be, history tells us he needs to change something and that’s the big challenge for Harvey.
‘He should be available for the Millwall game, he’s back training with us, but in a modified manner, he hasn’t done the full training sessions over the past couple of days. With his record, we have to be very cautious and very careful to make sure he doesn't break down again.
‘If you look at the run we’ve put together over the last 10 league games, he’s had a big impact in that. He started against QPR and Charlton, came on against Derby, was set to start in that Ipswich game, then had a big part in the goal against Arsenal.
‘It’s one of the reasons we have stuck with Harvey. Ultimately, we need him to become more robust and able to perform at this level more consistently. We’d like to have him back because we think he’s a good player.’
Pompey have filled 23 of their 25 slots in their Football League squad, with sporting director Rich Hughes telling The News the approach ‘made sense’.
Once again Jordan Archer isn’t included, neither is Mark Kosznovszky, who has been ruled out for the season, while Jacob Farrell has moved on loan to Western Sydney Wanderers.
‘We haven’t got a return date’
That leaves injured trio Blair, Knight (back) and Bianchini (knee) battling it out for two available slots - when fit.
Mousinho added: ‘We’ve had such an unknown with Josh because he’s had a stress fracture in his back. We are still slightly unsure, although he’s probably going to have to spend a significant time building back up because he hasn’t actually been active at all.
‘Flo is a lot closer, similar to Jacob Farrell’s injury, it’s just on a different part of the body. We haven’t got a return date.’
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