Defiant Portsmouth favourite hands John Mousinho surprise injury boost
The defender has made 111 appearances and scored six times since joining the Blues in the summer of 2022
Zak Swanson offered Pompey a timely injury boost and insisted: I’m aiming to be back before the start of the season.
The popular full-back underwent an operation on his right knee in April and has still to return to full training.
John Mousinho recently pinpointed a September return date for the 25-year-old, thereby missing the first month of the 2026-27 campaign.
With Connor Ogilvie having knee surgery earlier this week, the Blues are now short on left-back options heading into the season, with Ibane Bowat, Jacob Farrell and Jordan Williams the available alternatives.
Yet a determined Swanson is adamant he can return to action towards the end of the Blues’ pre-season friendly programme - putting him in the frame for a surprise Championship comeback.
‘I want to push the boundaries, I want to get back fit at that stage.’
He told The News: ‘My injury was a bit of a weird one to be honest. It was something I’d had previously in my knee, but then a bit of a freak accident in training saw me roll across the top of the ball and my knee locked.
‘It was a problem I’d had before and had just gone at that time. That’s football, you can’t dwell on those sorts of things, you’ve got to accept it.
‘I’m in a really good place at the minute, I trained with the team on Monday and I’m hoping to progress with that more. Hopefully towards the back end of pre-season.
‘I want to play in pre-season, I want to get back fit, my aim is to play in the pre-season games. I probably won’t catch the first few friendlies, but my aim is to get into those games and be fit for the start of the season.
‘The gaffer has said I will miss the start of the season, that’s his decision, but I want to be ahead of that, I want to push the boundaries, I want to get back fit at that stage. I want to be back fit for the start of the season.
‘Whether that is doable or not, we’ll see. Maybe with Connor being injured, that might push me forward quicker!’
Missed final eight matches of last season
Swanson collected his knee injury in training following the dismal 6-1 defeat at QPR in March.
As a consequence, he missed the final eight matches of the season as the struggling Blues rallied remarkably to clinch Championship safety with two games to spare.
Although that was accomplished in his absence, it still represented an outstanding season for the ex-Arsenal man, who totalled 35 appearances and deservedly earned a new two-year deal.
He added: ‘The lads pulled through in the end, it was still amazing to be part of the group at the end of the season.
‘I always wanted to affect the group in a positive way, even though I couldn't be on the pitch, and they obviously got the results we needed to get over the line.
‘Everyone was gutted after QPR, it was a bad, bad day for us, but the international break really, really helped us after that, it was the perfect timing.
‘At the same time, maybe if that day at Loftus Road didn't happen we might not be where we are now.’
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