Portsmouth given fresh fitness fillip with £1m man set to return for Championship run-in
It’s been four months of injury pain for the Hannover 96 signing and former Leicester City and Peterborough United defender - now he’s back.
Josh Knight has handed Pompey another injury shot in the arm with a return to training.
And John Mousinho stated the £1m arrival’s return to action will be confirmed this weekend, as the Blues' crippling injury list finally shows signs of improving.
Josh Knight ‘fit and training’ after Pompey injury pain
Knight has been sidelined for four months with a back stress fracture, which halted his season after his capture from German outfit Hannover 96 last summer.
The former Peterborough United and Leicester City man made 14 appearances before an injury, originally believed to be severe bone bruising, stalled his progress.
It’s been a testing period of rehabilitation since for the 28-year-old, but Knight has now rejoined his team-mates amid a trio of fitness boosts across the international break.
Given the extent of Knight’s issue, Pompey aren’t yet publicly prepared to name a game for the centre-back’s return - but that will likely change across the Easter period.
With Keshi Anderson back from two months out with a hamstring issue and Thomas Waddingham returning from a seven-month quad problem, it’s some much-needed extra player availability for Pompey.
Mousinho said: ‘Josh is fit and training.
‘In terms of a return date, we’re looking at making a decision on what to do after the weekend.
‘It’s taken a bit of time for him to get back, the initial time he spent out was because he was feeling his back.
‘He didn’t do any further damage to it, but we realised it was a more significant injury when the stress fracture became apparent.
‘Everything else is as is, but it’s been nice to actually have some players back in training. Josh is back, Keshi is back and Wadds is back is well.
Players to be left out of Pompey squad as injury list improves
‘We’ve had the lads away on international duty, so there was still quite a few missing.
‘We have four or five of those away, so once we get them back we’ll be in a better position. We’ll be leaving lads out of the squad next weekend.’
There were fears Knight may not play again this season, given the nature of the player’s rehabilitation from a back issue, which thankfully now look unfounded.
Speaking to The News at the end of February, Mousinho said: ‘Josh got the all clear on the scan for the stress fracture on his back.
‘But because he’s been out for so long, with most injuries you can still do a lot in the gym or with a muscle tear you can control it by doing bike work, the cross-trainer or get out on the grass before building up to a high-intensity work.
‘Josh has not been able to do any of that, because of the nature of his injury. So it’s a very, very slow build-up for him. That’s the issue for Josh, the amount of time out against the amount of time it will take him to build back up is pretty big - and we’re running out of weeks.
‘The best-case scenario would be to get him back for the last four or five games - but that’s the best-case scenario. I don’t think you can count him on him coming back, if he comes back that’s a bonus.’