Portsmouth report clean bill of health for Peterborough trip as Kenny Jackett weighs up options with Christian Burgess suspended

The Blues boss revealed his players came through unscathed from their FA Cup fifth-round defeat to Arsenal on Monday night.

That’s left Jackett pleased with the options available to him as Pompey look to cement their automatic promotion credentials against a side with similar ambitions.

However, who comes in to replace the suspended Christian Burgess in the centre of defence was something the manager was keen to keep close to his chest.

Speaking to The News ahead of Saturday’s trip to London Road, Jackett said: ‘We’re okay (injury-wise) and that’s good.

‘Through this sort of busy period, I’m pleased with the selection options that I have.

‘They’re good options I have, I think – experienced players, players that are ready, players who are looking to play.

‘And for us, we have no problems from Monday.

‘Obviously, there’s the suspension for Christian Burgess, but Peterborough, I think, have Frankie Kent out as well, who is one of their regular centre-backs.’

He added: ‘Defensively, we have the option of obviously keeping it the same as we had against Arsenal, which worked fine in terms of James Bolton (at centre-back) and Ross McCrorie (at right-back). That was good.

‘We also have Jack Whatmough, we have (Tom) Naylor who can drop back, and we have Paul Downing.

‘They’re the options at the moment.’