Portsmouth handed much-needed Nico Schmid injury boost as fitness issues pile up
Pompey are facing mounting injury problems but keeper Nico Schmid has offered one piece of positivity amid John Mousinho’s fitness issues.
Pompey have been handed a much-needed fitness fillip over Nico Schmid.
The keeper will not be required to undergo surgery on the hand injury picked up in the south-coast derby showdown with Southampton.
Surgery update on Schmid after Southampton injury
Schmid is facing up to 12 weeks out after fracturing a bone in his hand in a first-half collision with Connor Ogilvie, which left Blues boss John Mousinho fuming.
The fracture is to one of the five metacarpal bones in the Austrian’s right hand, with Schmid currently in a brace to protect the impacted area. The good news is the 28-year-old will not be required to go under the knife, with Mousinho indicating last week that would be a potential consideration - though optimistic that would not be the case.
It remains to be seen, however, if avoiding surgery can quicken the key figure’s recovery time with Mousinho putting an eight to 12-week timeframe on Schmid’s time on the sidelines when addressing the press last week.
The Pompey boss explained the outstanding keeper will see a specialist this week, where he will likely gain a clearer picture of how long he’ll likely be out of the first-team picture.
Ben Killip came in for Schmid in Saturday’s hugely disappointing 2-0 home reverse against Sheffield Wednesday. The keeper made some impressive stops at Fratton Park, but also had some nervy moments which transmitted to his team-mates.
Beyond Killip, Pompey have new boy Josef Bursik to call upon with the former Stoke City man arriving from Belgian outfit Club Brugge on deadline day. Bursik was named on the bench at the weekend, with that the 25-year-old’s first squad involvement since sealing a two-year deal at PO4 for an undisclosed fee.
Pompey’s other senior keeper with the first-team group at present is Jordan Archer, though the former Spurs and QPR man has not been named in the squad registered with the EFL. The Blues have kept a space open with a maximum 25 players able to be named.
Meanwhile, Toby Steward is excelling away from Fratton Park with the academy graduate picking up playing time and shining in the Scottish Championship with St Johnstone.
Pompey Championship injury problems piling up
Conor Shaughnessy has joined those in the treatment room, after pulling up in the second half on Saturday against Sheffield Wednesday with a hamstring issue. That, of course, led to George Brown scoring the second goal of the game at Fratton Park.
Josh Murphy also missed the 2-0 reverse with an ankle injury, though Blues boss Mousinho is optimistic the problem is not a serious one.
Thomas Waddingham is facing an extended period on the sidelines, with a quad injury picked up in training set to keep the striker out for up to three months. Minhyeok Yang is also out after rolling his ankle in training with Harvey Blair recovering from a hamstring tear.
Callum Lang is sidelined with a hamstring picked up against Norwich City, which could keep him out until November. New boy Franco Umeh is set to return to training after dealing with a hamstring issue, after his £500,000 arrival from Crystal Palace.