'Most frustrating season of my career': Conor Shaughnessy on escaping his injury hell - and why he doesn't blame Portsmouth

It was the most frustrating season of his football career - yet Conor Shaughnessy has absolved Pompey of any responsibility.

The man whose iconic header sealed promotion to the Championship was barely able to contribute upon arrival, with injury devastating his involvement to just nine outings.

With two injuries to his right calf, one to his left, and a hamstring tear in his left leg, the influential central defender endured a wretched personal campaign amid the highs of avoiding relegation.

Armed with hindsight, Shaughnessy now has the opportunity to pinpoint precisely where it all went wrong, having breezed through the physical challenge of 45 League One starts the previous season.

And, upon reflection, he’s adamant there is no rhyme, reason or culprit behind his infuriating injury woes - merely ‘a bit of bad luck’.

‘With hindsight, nothing could have been done’

The former Leeds man told The News: ‘In terms of injuries, it was the most frustrating season of my career.

‘Initially, I didn’t feel they were long-term or massive injuries, but they managed to linger. I’ve had a calf problem on one side and then, when nearly back, it happened on the other side.

‘It’s a bit more frustrating when you believe you’ll be back in four weeks and it’s then dragging on to eight weeks and then 12 weeks. On top of that there’s the rumours, so it has been one thing after another.

‘It’s a strange one. I had started 45 League One games the previous season, I was fine. Suddenly, for the first time in my career, I’ve picked up a calf injury. I’ve had a couple of injuries before that, but more like an ankle operation because I went over it quite badly. I haven’t previously had bad muscle injuries.

‘I can’t even put it down to anything. Obviously the initial calf injury played a part in the second one - and together those two have played a part in the third one. Maybe if the first one didn’t happen, I would have been fine.

‘The biggest challenge is mentally, trying to get past it. Thinking “Why has this happened? How can I stop this?”.

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‘The thing is, with hindsight I don’t think anything could have been done, it’s just a bit of bad luck, there’s nothing. I speak to the physio all the time, I think I go about things in the right way.

‘I believe I do all my prehab and warm up my body correctly, I look after myself, I eat all the right things. I don’t think I do anything wrong - and in that sense it’s another reason why it was very frustrating to pick up that injury.

‘Everybody at some point probably has to go through that, so hopefully that’s me now done. I’m lucky I’m at a club where the fans previously saw me for a full season, so know what I am capable of.

‘I’ve worked a lot with Max (Whittingham) in the gym, with physios, just strengthening my body, doing everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen again - and I’m looking forward to next season now.’

Ruled out for Portsmouth for five-and-a-half months

Having started Pompey’s opening two Championship fixtures, Shaughnessy initially felt a calf issue towards the end a goalless draw with Luton in August 2024.

A non-malicious breakdown in communication resulted in the local media inaccurately told that illness was subsequently behind the Irishman’s absence at Middlesbrough.

As it turned out, the right calf issue, which later also impacted his left calf, would keep Shaughnessy out of the first-team for the next five-and-a-months.

Then, just four games into his January comeback, a hamstring injury cruelly struck as the 2023-24 Players’ Player of the Season ended the campaign with just nine appearances.

Although, encouragingly for next season, he featured in Pompey’s final three matches as they claimed 16th spot.

Shaughnessy added: ‘The first injury was right at the end of the Luton game, but it didn’t feel that much. It was like a tightening up of a muscle in my right calf. When we got it scanned shortly after, it showed up worse than we initially thought.

‘Then it happened again in the warm-up for Sheffield United (September 2024). It was very frustrating, especially when I’m back in the squad ready to play. It’s another challenge and you just have to overcome it.

‘I wasn’t doing anything too strenuous’

‘Next my left calf went in training (November 2024). It’s likely to be over compensating for my right calf, but it’s hard to exactly put your finger on it. It was just a rehab session, I wasn’t doing anything too strenuous, I just felt my left side tighten up.

‘We had it scanned as a precaution - to put my mind at ease more than anything - and it came back the same as the right side. It wasn’t classed as a full tear, but it was an injury which involved a tendon in my soleus, which is below the calf.

‘I came back in January, played a few games, and then my left hamstring went against Cardiff. It was an awkward clearance, maybe I was fatigued as well because I had played a few games in a short space of time coming back. There were a few different factors.

‘I was out for the expected length of time, but, considering my injury record that season, they were very cautious about getting me back too soon.

‘You don’t write off this season completely, you learn from it. If it means I do more prehab work with the physios and the fitness coaches, that’s what I’ll do.

‘I have had a (fitness) programme made up for me every day for pre-training, which is longer than I would usually do. Now before games I have certain things I must tick off for myself, just to prepare my hamstrings and calves. Whatever is required to avoid this happening again.’

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