John Mousinho convinced defender's Portsmouth career finally ready for lift off - 12 months later
The Australian under-23 international has made just one appearance in his 12 months at Fratton Park
John Mousinho is adamant Jacob Farrell’s Pompey career is finally ready for lift off.
The Australian under-23 international’s Fratton Park stay has been devastated by injury problems, restricting him to just one appearance to date.
However, the strength of the left-back’s pre-season return has convinced the Blues head coach he is now over those injuries and ready to demonstrate his highly-regarded talents.
Following surgery on his problematic knee, with part of the recovery overseen by the Socceroos’ national team, Farrell has been a constant since Pompey came back to training a fortnight ago.
And Mousinho believes the 22-year-old two-time A-League winner is poised to at last put behind him his south-coast frustrations.
Portsmouth boss: He’s in really good shape
He told The News: ‘Jacob is good, he has been working hard over the summer. He’s a very, very hard working lad anyway - a very fit lad - and he’s come back in very good shape.
‘We caught a glimpse at home of him against Sheffield United and we’re looking forward to seeing more this year,
‘We have all the information in front of us and, with the testing and everything he has done over the summer, we hope he is now over the injuries.
‘Having surgery on the MCL should strengthen it. We also wanted Jacob to spend a bit of time back home, he was looked after by the physio of the (Australia) national team.
‘We have to be cautious with him still, make sure we manage him through pre-season, but he is fine and in really good shape - we hope he stays fit.’
Long-term MCL injury
A persistent medical collateral ligament injury to his knee eventually required an operation in January as the Blues accepted it could no longer be managed through rest and recuperation.
That ruled him for the remainder of the campaign, having featured just once since arriving from Central Coast Mariners - a start against Sheffield United in September 2024.
It is highly noticeable that Farrell has physically bulked up during his 12 months on the sidelines, compared to his arrival this time last year.
Certainly the Blues are hoping he will find himself in a position to challenge Conor Ogilvie for the left-back role, potentially setting up an intriguing first-team battle between the pair.
‘He will be fine to crack on’
Although Mousinho has absolutely no intention of wrapping Farrell up in cotton wool and easing him through the forthcoming friendly schedule, with six matches on the fixture list.
Instead he anticipates the full-back will feature fully - starting from the July 15 trip to Woking (7pm) - as the Fratton faithful will finally be offered a glimpse of him in action once again.
And Farrell is expected to be involved in all the pre-season action right up until the August 9 Championship kick-off against Oxford United.
Mousinho added: ‘I don’t think we’ll be dipping Jacob in and out of friendlies.
‘The first friendly is on July 15 (Woking), by which time that will have given him three weeks worth of training, plus all the work he has done over the summer, so I think he will be fine to crack on.’
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