Portsmouth dealt Stoke City blow as in-form West Brom arrival John Swift misses Championship clash
Pompey’s injuries are battering their squad ahead of the Championship showdown with Stoke City - now John Swift will be absent from the clash at Fratton Park.
Pompey have been handed a Stoke City setback with midfielder John Swift set to miss this weekend’s Championship clash.
The in-form midfielder will be absent for the game against the Potters, putting the brakes on a Fratton Park career which was beginning to accelerate.
In-form former Chelsea man out of Stoke City game
Swift is out of the meeting with Mark Robins’ side after accumulating five yellow cards so far this season. The fifth of those arrived in Tuesday night’s defeat to Coventry City at Fratton Park, meaning the summer arrival after leaving West Brom will serve an immediate one-game suspension.
Swift picked up the caution from referee Gavin Ward, five minutes from the end of normal time in the 2-1 defeat to the league leaders. With the 30-year-old also picking up bookings against Oxford United, Norwich City, West Brom and Southampton - fixtures covering the first six games - it means he will be forced to watch on from the stands.
Pompey already look certain to be without a natural option to fill the number 10 position Swift has operated in over the past four games, with Adrian Segecic leaving the pitch in tears on Tuesday night.
Segecic was forced off just 10 minutes after his introduction with an ankle injury, with the top scorer distraught as he left Fratton Park on crutches. The Sydney FC capture will undergo a scan to ascertain the extent of that injury, but it’s clear the 21-year-old is facing a stint out of action.
Mousinho said after last night’s Coventry defeat: ‘We don’t know about Adrian yet, I don’t think it looks great. I think he’s done something to his ankle, so we’ll see how that settles down in the next couple of days. We’ll see how it settles down on Wednesday and then he will probably get a scan on Thursday or Friday.
‘Whenever those sort of things happen, you worry about the potential but there is absolutely nothing we can do about it now. We can think about it as much as we like, but we’ll wait until the medical team come back with a diagnosis.’
Pompey battered by injuries in Stoke City build-up
Pompey will be desperately hoping Josh Murphy is back in contention for this weekend, with the key figure out for the past six games with a troublesome ankle injury. Last season’s The News/Sports Mail Player of the Season is now back in training, with boss John Mousinho confirming Stoke as the game target for the winger’s comeback.
Pompey are also without another major attacking option in Callum Lang, who’s out with a hamstring injury. Lang’s slated to be back against Millwall, after next month’s international break. Winger Harvey Blair has also missed the past two games with a tight hamstring, after five months out with the issue.
Nicolas Schmid (fractured hand), Jordan Williams (hamstring), Conor Shaughnessy (hamstring), Franco Umeh (hamstring), Jacob Farrel (groin), Thomas Waddingham (quad) are all also currently sidelined.