Portsmouth to delay defender's return despite need for fresh legs amid hectic Championship schedule
John Mousinho is prepared to delay Jacob Farrell’s long-awaited Pompey return.
The 22-year-old Australian is available for the Blues’ New Year’s Day game against Swansea at Fratton Park after finally putting a persistent knee injury behind him.
Yet the Pompey head coach told The News he’ll manage the defender’s return with care in order to prevent the summer arrival from Central Coast Mariners breaking down again. That means the left-back looks unlikely to feature against the Swans and will have to wait a bit longer - most likely Sunday’s trip to Sunderland - to make just his second appearance for the PO4 outfit.
Farrell’s sole outing to date came on September 28 against Sheffield United when he was selected ahead of Connor Ogilvie.
The Aussie should have marked his debut with a goal as the game ended 0-0. But he still made a good first impression on the Fratton faithful and left them wanting more as he showcased what he’ll bring to Mousinho Championship strugglers.
News that he’s on the brink of a comeback will come as a boost - particularly during such a hectic period in the season and withe Blues back in the relegation zone. But while Pompey will welcome back hamstring victim Jordan Williams for the visit of the Swans, Farrell will be forced to wait just a bit longer.
Giving an update on what he’s got available selection-wise in his pre-match press conference, Mousinho said: ‘Everybody who was available at the weekend is still available for the game (against Swansea).
‘In terms of a couple of players who are ready to return, we’ve got Jacob Farell and Jordan Williams ready to return. They’re both back available for selection.
‘In Jacob’s case, he has been training and is available for selection, but we’ll probably give him a couple more days to make sure he’s fully back into the swing of things.
‘Apart from that, no fresh injuries, no fresh illnesses and those are the two who are available to return from the injury list.’
Poole and O’Mahony complications
A calf issue looks set to delay Regan Poole’s return, with the defender out since the Norwich game with a hamstring problem.
Meanwhile, Mousinho admitted the side strain suffered by Mark O’Mahony the last time the Blues faced the Swans back on November 30 was proving more problematic than previously thought.
Revealing the latest on the Brighton loanee, the Pompey boss said: ‘Mark's a couple of weeks away. He had his final injection in the injury at the back end of last week. We're just waiting for that to settle down. It's been a bit more of a niggly one than we initially thought it would be.’