£1m Portsmouth man handed AFCON snub after underwhelming Fratton Park start
Luke Le Roux has featured just eight appearances for Pompey following his £1m move from IFK Varnamo in the summer.
It’s been a tumultuous start to life at Fratton Park for Luke Le Roux.
The midfielder, who made a £1m move from Swedish top flight outfit IFK Varnamo in July, has featured just eight times for the Blues this term and has been regularly in-and-out of the side.
In fact, the 25-year-old has started just three of Pompey’s opening 19 Championship matches to date, with John Mousinho admitting he is yet to find a settled pairing in the engine room.
Le Roux’s last outing came more than a month ago in a 3-2 defeat against Hull City, in which he was withdrawn at half-time and has been left out of three of the previous five matchday squads.
Luke Le Roux snubbed from AFCON squad
And the summer arrival’s frustrations have been further compounded, having been left out of South Africa’s 25-man squad for the Africa Cup Of Nations.
The ex-Verbarges BoIS man has nine caps to his name for Bafana Bafana, with his last international outing coming against Mozambique in June.
The South Africa head coach has overlooked the Pompey man for the upcoming tournament, despite naming just four central midfielders in his 25-man squad.
Bafana Bafana take on Angola in their opening next Monday before facing Egypt on Boxing Day and then round off the group stage against Zimbabwe.
It means the 25-year-old will remain available for Pompey during the competition, which takes place in Morocco between December 21 and January 15.
Le Roux has struggled for consistent outings following his summer arrival and has featured just eight times in all competitions to date.
The South African has been named on the bench in Pompey’s previous two league matches, with Andre Dozzell and Marlon Pack sidelined to serve their respective suspensions.
John Mousinho’s midfield struggles
And at the start of December, Mousinho explained why he is yet to find a settled partnership in his midfield just yet.
He said: ‘We haven’t quite settled on that midfield pairing yet.
‘I think with Luke, the reason we’ve played him in games and started him in games is because we thought he was ready to adapt, and he’s done that.
‘He probably struggled a little bit against Wrexham early on, but then came into the game well. That’s why we started him against Hull, but it was pretty clear to see in terms of the decision we made at half-time where we thought that game was going. It’s just one of those things.
‘What we have to do is balance that time and give players time to adapt, get to the level and the speed of the game. That’s versus the short-term needs of the team.’
‘Luke just needs to keep working hard. He’s a very good trainer, Luke, and a nice, young lad. It’s still really early in his Portsmouth career.
‘I know he’ll be really disappointed not to make those squads, but there’s no short-term panic for him - he just needs to be ready when called upon.’
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