The sight at Portsmouth training faithful will love to see as defender’s return accelerates

Pompey were today intensifying their pre-season training work during a gruelling day at their Hilsea base.

And building up his return to fitness with his Blues team-mates was Aussie defender Hayden Matthews, in a sight to hearten the Fratton Faithful.

Pompey defender steps up return after season-ending injury woe

Matthews, of course, saw his promising introduction to life in the Championship curtailed in February, following his £1.27m move from Sydney FC.

An ankle injury which required surgery saw the central defender’s season come to a close, after just six appearances and a period in which his form was quickly improving as he adjusted to the English game.

Matthews has reported back fit and raring to go, however, after posting videos of close-season work focussing on weightlifting, agility and co-ordination before John Mousinho’s undertook testing last Tuesday and Wednesday.

Pompey then spent time training in the capital at the Lensbury Resort in Teddington, before today ramping up their work at the Pompey Health & Fitness which has been undergoing pitch renovations.

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Matthews, sporting a mullet haircut, looked to be in excellent condition, after completing his rehabilitation from his ligament issue across the summer as Pompey went through an intensive morning focussed on work with the ball.

The second session of the day was then gym based with more of the same this week, before the first-team squad head off to Bratislava on Saturday for a week-long training camp.

Sydney FC working through summer to assure Pompey injury return

It’s a big season for Matthews, who explained he returned to Pompey ahead of time to make sure he’s ready to join his team-mates.

And he has high hopes of his team building on their 16th-placed Championship finish last term.

Speaking to the United by Football Podcast, Matthews said: ‘I’m just trying to get fit for pre-season. I feel like I’m playing catch-up a little bit, having obviously just started running around three or four weeks ago. But I feel good and my ankle feels good.

‘I head back in a couple of weeks, I’m there a bit before pre-season, in with the physios before I get back into it with the boys.

I think within the group, there's a lot of belief. From the minute I got there, I knew no-one in the group thought we were going down. There was never even a thought about it.

‘Obviously, we were in and around it, and we knew what we had to do to get out of it, but I think everyone had the belief that we'd find a way.

‘And I think we more than comfortably found a way. That comes down to the mentality of the team and everything, and I don't think any of us ever wavered from that thought.

‘Going into next season, I think there's even more belief.

‘I think we've proven to ourselves - from December 1, I believe we're seventh on the Championship (form) table. That's a large portion of the season. And if we can continue that movement going forward, I don't see why we can't be in and around the playoffs. I really can’t see why we can’t.’

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