Exclusive:Portsmouth trio ruled out of Championship season's start - but good news over Josh Murphy
Murphy featured just 16 times for the Blues in an injury-disrupted 2025-26 season
John Mousinho has delivered encouraging injury news over Josh Murphy.
However, Zak Swanson, Josef Bursik and Mark Kosznovszky have been ruled out of the start of Pompey’s 2026-27 season.
Murphy’s injury-ravaged year culminated in missing the final game of last term against Birmingham after undergoing an operation to repair a groin tear.
It represented yet another blow in a campaign which saw the classy winger restricted to just 16 appearances, hugely impacting the Blues’ creativity, in particular Colby Bishop's goal return.
The 31-year-old is currently back on the grass running, although has still to join in fully with pre-season training.
According to Mousinho, though, the former Oxford United man is expected to feature towards the end of the Blues’ friendly schedule.
‘We aren’t looking to push anything at the minute’
Pompey’s head coach told The News: ‘Murph is about two weeks away, we are confident he will be ready for the start of the season, but we aren’t looking to push anything at the minute.
‘He will play towards the back end of pre-season and is currently rehabbing out on the grass with the medical team.’
Others to have joined Murphy in rehabbing out on grass over the last week have been Marlon Pack, Ebou Adams, Tayo Singerr and Jacob Farrell.
On the flipside, a number of players who finished the 2025-26 season injured have been involved in full training, including Terry Devlin, Keshi Anderson, Josh Knight, Harvey Blair, Colby Bishop, Franco Umeh and John Swift.
The luckless Hayden Matthews, whose ankle injury sustained on an Australian training camp in May ruled him out of the reckoning for the 2026 World Cup finals, has also trained.
‘The start of the season is going to be touch and go for Zak’
However, Swanson (knee), Bursik (calf) and Kosznovszky (knee) are still some way off from a first-team playing return.
Certainly it’s disappointing for Swanson, who signed a new two-year deal last month, yet remains sidelined by the meniscus tear to his right knee which ruled him out of the final eight matches of last season.
Mousinho added: ‘Zak is probably about a week or two behind Josh (Murphy).
‘The start of the season is going to be touch and go for Zak, but he should be okay, probably for kind of the start of September.
‘Joe Bursik will be back at the back end of August or September, with Mark Kosznovszky will return at the back end of December, potentially early January.’
Pompey are scheduled to face Woking on Tuesday, July 14 for the first of six pre-season friendlies this summer.
They were also travel to Aldershot (July 15), Bristol Rovers (July 18), Wycombe (July 25), Farnborough (July 29) and Darmstadt (August 1).
The 2026-27 season kicks off on Saturday, August 8 with a trip to West Ham in the Carabao Cup.