Portsmouth boss Marko Milovanović injury verdict as striker faces stint on sidelines ahead of Stoke City
The Pompey boss offers his view on the big Serb striker’s injury and the fitness verdict amid a frantic run of Championship fixtures.
John Mousinho is adamant there were no warning signs for Pompey to heed amid Marko Milovanović’s injury setback.
But the Blues boss has acknowledged the frustration surrounding the big Serb being dealt his Swansea City fitness blow as he was about to be withdrawn.
Mousinho on Milovanović’s injury: ‘There was nothing physical which was a red flag’
The striker, nicknamed Marezi, is awaiting his fate after undergoing a scan for the quad issue suffered in the second half of Tuesday’s 3-1 win at Fratton Park.
His run of seven appearances off the back of a calf injury is expected to come to an end against Stoke City this weekend, with Mousinho confident there was nothing which could have been done to prevent the blow.
And the Pompey boss sees a busy period of five games across the space of 13 days followed by a further three games in eight days, negotiated reasonably well so far with Stoke to come before the international break.
Mousinho said: ‘With Marko’s injury, we had the subs ready and he was going to come off.
‘That’s the frustrating thing, we were about to make the change anyway. That’s just one of those unfortunate things.
‘He was still fine with an hour gone and there were no warning signs at all.
‘He was just tiring up in terms of the press, but there was nothing physical which was a red flag at that point.
‘The boys had come out and we were ready to make that triple change.
‘I think it makes it even more frustrating that he pulled up when we were going to take him off. He was actually through as well.
‘It’s one of those things with the games and the way the scheduling has been, inevitably we were going to pick up a couple of injuries.
‘We’ve got to the back end and picked up one with Marko and maybe one with Iyad (Mohamed). We’ll just have to see how they settle down.’
Pompey are awaiting news on Mohamed (calf) and Milovanović’s hip issue, with Benjy Arthur (back), Connor Ogilvie (knee), Colby Bishop (knee), John Swift (knee), Mark Kosznovszky (knee), Keshi Anderson (hamstring) and Luke Brooke-Smith (ankle) also sidelined.
Mousinho isn’t expecting any of those players returning for the trip to Bolton Wanderers on November 12, after the international break.
He added: ‘The players who’ve come back recently, the likes of Wadds, Murphs. Shaughs and Franco - we’ve got those boys back in the fold.
‘I don’t think there’s anyone due to come back post-international break that’s not there.
‘Swifty’s still about four weeks away, there’s no timescale on Connor. We need to treat his knee symptomatically and see how it settles down.’