Portsmouth rocked by fresh injury set-back with attacker ruled out for rest of 2023

The former West Ham winger has been told he must undergo an operation on his problematic left knee.

And it is likely to rule out the summer recruit for the remainder of 2023.

Scully hasn’t featured since August against Fulham Under-21s in the EFL Trophy, missing the Blues’ last six matches in all competitions.

The club had hoped by resting his knee and undertaking injections, it may remove the need to go under the surgeon’s knife.

However, after returning to train on grass a week ago, the issue remains, ensuring an operation is necessary.

That will take place next month, with Scully now expected to be missing for up to three more months.

John Mousinho told The News: ‘It’s not the best news with Anthony.

‘The knee unfortunately hasn’t settled down after the injection, so it’s going to be surgery for him to repair the meniscus.

‘It’s a lengthier spell than we would have liked, we tried to do it this way and get him back a bit quicker, but sadly it hasn’t worked out.

‘Anthony’s going to have the operation in early October, it’s just about getting it booked in and making sure the swelling is reduced before we get in there, that’s an important thing.

‘But you are probably looking at 2-3 months of him being out.

‘It’s the same with the Tom Lowery injury, a lot is dependent on what they find when they get in there, the scans show only so much. We will have to see what happens.

‘He has been struggling with this injury, playing through it, trying to do the best for the side. It’s really bad luck for him.

‘We just need to take our time with Anthony, he’s here for a long time, so we want to make sure we do the right thing by him.’

During Scully’s absence, Abu Kamara and Paddy Lane have been handed first-team opportunities in wide positions.

Lane, in particular, has flourished, netting in successive matches, including Saturday’s 2-1 win over Lincoln.

Gavin Whyte has also made nine appearances, while Jack Sparkes featured in Scully’s favoured left-wing role at Stevenage last month.

Meanwhile, Scully has played six times for the Blues since joining from Wigan for an undisclosed fee in July.

Mousinho added: ‘Sculls was really, really good in pre-season and really sharp in a couple of the games.

‘It’s one of those things, it happens, but we’ve got the squad here for a reason, we are lucky we’ve had players come instead.’