Portsmouth boss' warning to Jacob Farrell after key injury update on luckless Australian

John Mousinho is adamant Pompey aren’t ‘panicky’ over Jacob Farrell’s latest injury blow.

But, after returning to training on Thursday, the Blues head coach has warned the Australian he must stay consistently fit before he can be considered for first-team duty.

Farrell has featured just twice for Pompey since joining in July 2024, primarily because of knee and groin problems.

Encouragingly, the knee operation he underwent in January appears to have been a success, with the long-term issue no longer troubling the 22-year-old.

However, the left-back has instead been troubled by a groin injury this season, which sidelined him for the last month.

Now, with Farrell’s latest comeback underway on the training pitch, Mousinho is eager for no more set-backs.

Portsmouth boss: It’s not ideal

He told The News: ‘Faz trained fully for the first time on Wednesday, he just needs a couple of weeks training before we can consider him. It’s good to have him back.

‘You are always concerned about anybody’s injury record, the fact he has only started one league for us injury-wise isn’t ideal, but I’m not panicky about where Faz is at. The fact it's not his knee again, is a positive.

‘He’s got to stay fit now and he’s got to try his best to keep going with that. If he does, he’s got half a chance - but we’re not rushing him.

‘He hardly missed anything during pre-season, he played against Reading in the Carabao Cup, but unfortunately we haven’t seen him since.’

Two Portsmouth appearances in 15 months

Farrell’s first - and only - Championship appearance was against Sheffield United 13 months ago.

His other outing was in the 2-1 Carabao Cup defeat to Reading in August, with the former Central Coast Mariners favourite featuring for the entire 90 minutes.

Recruited to provide competition for the left-back spot, Pompey offloaded League One title winner Jack Sparkes to Peterborough to accommodate him.

However, Connor Ogilvie’s impressive adjustment to the Championship has subsequently proven another barrier to Farrell’s first-team ambition.

Chiefly, though, his Pompey impact has been hampered by injury, with a persistent knee ligament issue devastating his maiden campaign on the south coast.

Farrell returned to pre-season training in June and was a constant on the training pitch and during the friendly schedule, featuring regularly.

Yet the brutal statistic is that, since joining the Blues from the A-League 15 months ago, he has made the squad for just two competitive fixtures.

And for the Fratton faithful, it has understandably been difficult to gauge the defender’s talents.

‘Everybody was excited after the Sheffield United game’

Mousinho added: ‘What you guys have seen from Faz so far is a pretty good snapshot.

‘Everybody was excited after the Sheffield United game because of the energy he showed, the defensive resilience to stay with (Jesuran) Rak-Sakyi, who gave him a really difficult 20-30 minutes.

‘But he stuck with it and won that battle in the second half - and nearly popped up with the winner.’

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