'No blame attached': John Mousinho pinpoints the truth behind Portsmouth's concerning injury record

John Mousinho has pinpointed the cause of Pompey’s hamstring frustration - and is adamant modern-day football is to blame.

Conor Shaughnessy and Callum Lang have both undergone operations after tearing their hamstrings during the opening six matches of the Championship season.

It’s the third occasion for Lang since February, restricting him to just five competitive matches, while Shaughnessy previously suffered the injury in February also, sidelining him for two-and-a-half months.

The continued absence of both pivotal players is devastating for the Blues, who are presently 14th in the Championship.

Yet Mousinho is convinced the rise in such hamstring injuries is the consequence of increased physical demands on footballers over the last five years, particularly in terms of athleticism and longer game times.

And he has warned the uncomfortable likelihood is more will happen.

‘This is going to be part of the game going forward’

Pompey’s head coach told The News: ‘You look at someone like Conor Shaughnessy, who had been out with a hamstring injury last season.

‘He returned towards the back end of the year, had a full pre-season with us and no issues whatsoever. He then played every minute of every league game in the build up to Sheffield Wednesday.

‘Then he has to be substituted five minutes after half-time. He had sprinted, wasn’t really at full tilt, while we've had a full week’s rest before that - and he’s gone down with a torn hamstring.

‘Everything was pointing in the right direction for Shocks. It’s one of those where you think there’s not a huge amount you can do other than rue your bad luck. I think we will see a few more of those this season, hopefully not for us.

‘The physical demands on players are much more significant than five years ago. This is probably going to be part of the game as we go forward.

‘You look at the level of physicality and the level of athleticism demanded at every level now, hence the need for bigger squads.

‘The fact we are allowed nine players on the bench, with five substitutions to be used - that is a reflection of where we are football-wise. While games are much longer than they used to be.

‘The average distance players run has probably gone up 10-20 per cent now. You see it with your own eyes on a Saturday how physically good the Championship is and the levels of distance which we need to cover. The levels of sprint distance, high-speed running, it has definitely gone up.

‘It can be prevented, there are always a multitude of factors to any injury. You can attribute injuries to a thousand different things, which can be a dangerous thing to do as well.

‘We try to mitigate the risk as much as possible with training load, with monitoring how players live their lives, making sure they are recovering properly, making sure they eat, sleep, drink properly.’

Three serious hamstring injuries at Fratton Park

Lang tore his hamstring in the second half against Norwich in mid-August, while Shaughnessy’s was in last month’s 2-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

Harvey Blair recently returned from the hamstring injury he sustained in a tackle by Hull’s Sean McLoughlin on the final day of last season in May - with all incidents occurring in Championship action at Fratton Park.

On the flip side, in January 2024, Alex Robertson’s right hamstring tear, which required surgery and ruled him out for the remainder of the season, happened at Pompey’s training ground.

And Mousinho is adamant the pitches at their Hilsea training base are not responsible for the squad’s ongoing issues.

Portsmouth boss: I don’t think we can attach any blame for that

He added: ‘If you look at our training ground compared to some of the places that Pompey or clubs who I’ve played for have trained over the last few years, it’s immaculate. The pitches are as good as they have ever been and we can’t really use that as an excuse.

‘During the winter it does become different, depending on what the weather is like in this country. I don’t think that’s a factor we can look at right now and attach any blame for that.

‘Unfortunately, naturally hamstring injuries are something we are going to have to deal with.’

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