Portsmouth forgotten man edging towards Fratton Park exit
The Australian left-back has featured three times for the Blues since joining from Central Coast Mariners in July 2024
Jacob Farrell is nearing his injury return - and edging closer to a Fratton Park exit.
According to John Mousinho, the left-back is at the end of his rehabilitation and could potentially return to full training this week.
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It will mark the latest attempt at a comeback for the Australian, who suffered a recurrence of his groin problem in July after just three Pompey appearances in two seasons.
It also represents a timely possible return to action for Farrell, with the Australian transfer window deadline looming on September 15.
The A-League is the most likely destination for the injury-hampered 23-year-old, having previously featured for Central Coast Mariners and Western Sydney Warriors.
And with little prospect of a Fratton Park future, the Blues are eager to offload Farrell once he is declared fit.
‘That will probably be the plan with Faz’
Mousinho told The News: ‘Jacob's still with us, he’s just at the end stage of rehab and is actually doing pretty well and is very close to training.
‘We’re still looking to loan him out, that will probably be the plan with Faz. We’ve got a couple of options, but I’ve not been completely on top of that, so I’ll see where it is.’
Farrell was at Fratton Park on Saturday as new left-back Jayden Meghoma turned in a man-of-the-match display against Cardiff on his Blues debut.
The 20-year-old has arrived on a season-long loan from Brentford, finally ending a summer-long hunt to strengthen what has become a problematic position through injury.
Connor Ogilvie recently underwent a second knee operation since July, leaving the right-footed Zak Swanson as Mousinho’s only left-back option.
Swanson had started the opening five matches of the campaign in the position, having himself returned from knee surgery in mid-July after missing the final eight fixtures of last season.
With the summer departures of Ibane Bowat and Jordan Williams, other left-back options, Pompey have, on occasions, even played central midfielder Odin Bailey there.
Sparkling debut from Brentford loanee
Still, Meghoma’s sparkling debut in the 2-0 success over the Bluebirds offered hope to the Fratton faithful, albeit the former Rangers loanee had to leave the pitch on 65 minutes with cramp.
Earlier this summer, Mousinho admitted the Blues were prepared to let Farrell leave on either a loan or permanent deal after becoming frustrated with his lack of availability.
Since joining from Central Coast Mariners in July 2024, the former Australia Under-23 international has suffered persistent knee and groin problems, restricting him to just seven first-team squads.
In the second half of last season, he moved on loan to A-League club Western Sydney Warriors and established himself as a left-sided centre-half.
However, Farrell’s campaign was cut short after being struck down by another groin injury at the end of April, representing another brutal set-back.
And even though the majority of transfer windows across the world are presently closed, Pompey are hopeful they can find a taker for the luckless left-back, particularly in Australia.