The key factor now aiding return of major Portsmouth players in Championship push
Conor Shaughnessy and Josh Murphy have proved their crucial importance to the Pompey ranks, but John Mousinho sees their latest returns arriving among a different scenario to previous injury comebacks.
Pompey are ready to exercise caution to aid the comebacks of their major Championship players.
Blues boss John Mousinho believes he’s in a position where he doesn’t need to throw Conor Shaughnessy and Josh Murphy back into the heart of their league push, following their returns to fitness.
Pompey boss on injury returns: ‘There’s a balance to be struck there’
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But Mousinho acknowledged there’s a balance to strike in terms of easing the pair back into the fray and giving them the minutes required to build their match sharpness.
Murphy is now back in the equation after double groin surgery restricted the 31-year-old to two Championship cameo appearances, so far this term.
The outstanding winger was given 13 minutes at Burnley on Saturday, with a similar runout off the bench against Swansea City on Tuesday night.
Shaughnessy has been back on the bench for the past two games, after missing five games with a groin issue picked up against Blackburn Rovers in September.
The form of Regan Poole and Madiodio Dia means there’s been no rush to throw the 30-year-old back into the team, however, with Stoke City up next ahead of the international break.
Mousinho acknowledged Pompey had to ‘flog’ Murphy in the past, with the hope now a more gradual return can limit the risk of injury recurrences.
He said: ‘Murph coming back off the first injury he had, he’d played pretty much every game in the first Championship season.
‘When he came back off the first injury he had last year, we had to play him.
‘He played for half an hour against Birmingham and then off the back of that it was 90 minutes against Wrexham and 90 minutes against Hull.
‘He never settled down and had multiple issues which culminated in him being out with that broken foot.’
‘It was the same with Shaughs.
‘We brought Shaughs back in and initially maybe the first time we brought him back in we gave him a start too soon.
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‘But since then we’ve been very cautious and pro-active with Shaugh’s injury matters.
‘About this time last year or a little bit later we introduced him back into the fold, he went half an hour against Charlton, 60 minutes against Arsenal and built his way up gradually.
‘Unfortunately, he got injured against Sheffield Wednesday.
‘At the minute what we don’t want to do is have him not picking up those minutes as well, so there’s a balance to be struck there.’
With Murphy and Shaughnessy back in the fray, Pompey aren’t expecting any imminent returns among the other players currently in the treatment room.
Iyad Mohamed (calf) is expected to be okay for Stoke, with Benjy Arthur (back), Connor Ogilvie (knee), Colby Bishop (knee), John Swift (knee), Mark Kosznovszky (knee), Keshi Anderson (hamstring) and Luke Brooke-Smith (ankle) sidelined.
Mousinho isn’t expecting any of those players back by the time Pompey go Bolton Wanderers on November 21 after the international break.