Portsmouth injury update: Christian Saydee's Derby absence explained - and when the Fratton faithful can expect to see him back

The Pompey boss confirmed the hamstring injury that ruled the forward out of Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Derby is not long term.

Rather, the former Shrewsbury ace is due to be back in contention for selection as early as Tuesday – and just in time for the midweek trip to Barnsley.

Saydee has quickly established himself as a bit of a fans’ favourite at Fratton Park, following his summer move from AFC Bournemouth for an undisclosed fee.

His absence for the game against the Rams at Pride Park, after an inspired performance against Peterborough last time out, was considered a big blow for the Blues. With Kusini Yengi and Anthony Scully also ruled out for the game, it also left the Blues light of attacking options.

The player travelled with his Pompey team-mates to Derbyshire for the game, demonstrating how close he is to a return from a set-back picked up in training last Saturday. However, he played no part on the advice of new head physio Steve Hard.

Mousinho admitted he would have been tempted to utilise Saydee if he had over-ridden that decision and put the front man on the bench as an option – especially after James Collins’ controversial penalty handed Paul Warne’s side the advantage with just four minutes of normal time to be played.

Yet the head coach admitted that was something the club are keen to avoid moving forward, as he explained the circumstances of Saydee’s injury and his likely return date.

Mousinho told BBC Solent: ‘So Christian took a knock in training, back on Saturday, so he hadn’t trained since Saturday.

‘It was touch and go with Chris but he hadn’t done anything anywhere near above 50 per cent leading up to the game and what we didn’t want to do was have him on the bench.

‘In those circumstances I probably would have brought him on and if we had risked something a bit longer term then that’s the sort of thing we are really trying to cut out.

‘The advice from Steve was that he shouldn’t be involved and the best thing to do was to get him prepped for Tuesday.

‘He’s on the pitch behind me doing some running, so nothing too severe – I’m not lying about that. He should be fit for Tuesday.’