A new Portsmouth face and the comeback of the forgotten men - pre-season is tantalisingly close

There will be one newcomer in attendance for Pompey’s pre-season return - plus the welcome return to fitness of many familiar faces.

Adrian Segecic will tomorrow morning link up with his Fratton Park team-mates for the very first time at their Hilsea-based training ground.

The sole summer signing so far, his capture from Sydney FC has been well received by the Fratton faithful, who are keen to watch the 21-year-old attacking midfielder in action.

Yet John Mousinho is also expected to be boosted by the potential availability of the many walking wounded who ended last season watching from the sidelines.

27-man Portsmouth squad

Pompey’s pre-season schedule kicks off tomorrow with two days of medical testing for his 27-man first-team squad, as is customary before getting back out on the grass proper as a group.

Last summer, such tests crucially discovered Colby Bishop’s heart issue, which required the popular striker to undergo surgery in August, before returning just three months later and finishing as the Blues’ 11-goal top scorer.

At the end of this week, attention will turn to pitch work, with the welcome possibility of every contracted Pompey player being involved, with the once overcrowded treatment room significantly clearing up.

Walking wounded to return for Portsmouth

The likes of Hayden Matthews, Jordan Williams, Jacob Farrell, Thomas Waddingham and Zak Swanson all missed the end of last season as Mousinho’s men finished an admirable 16th during their first season back in the Championship.

In addition, Ibane Bowat and Paddy Lane had returned to full training in the final week of the campaign following long-term injuries, but far too soon to feature in the finale against Hull.

As for poor Harvey Blair, he was forced off injured just 16 minutes in that Tigers clash following a strong challenge from Sean McLoughlin in only his third league start of the season.

Still, all eight are expected to have recovered over the summer to feature in pre-season, handing Mousinho plenty of options during his six-game friendly schedule.

Certainly in the cases of Bowat and Farrell, the Fratton faithful will be eager to see both in action having made one appearance between them since being purchased from Fulham and Central Coast Mariners respectively last summer.

Pompey’s first full week of training will begin next Monday (June 30), although they will be flying out to Slovakia on Saturday, July 5 for their training camp.

Seven days in Slovakia

Based near the capital Bratislava, they will spend seven days working under Mousinho and his coaching team, with no game planned once again. However, an open training session will be held on Thursday, July 10 for supporters.

The Blues’ first friendly takes place at Woking on Tuesday, July 15, followed by a trip to Farnborough the following evening.

They also have Crawley (July 19), Reading (July 26), Hawks (July 29) and a Fratton Park match (August 2) lined up.

Pompey will discover details of their 2025-26 Championship fixture list on Thursday (June 26), with the Championship season kicking off on August 8-9.

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