Josh Murphy was making his second appearance of the season against Lincoln

Josh Murphy’s latest Pompey appearance has lasted just 17 minutes.

The popular Blues winger was forced off in the second half of today’s game against Lincoln not long after being introduced to the action at Sincil Bank.

With head coach John Mousinho keen to manage the 31-year-old’s return to first-team action with caution after a sustained period on the sidelines, Murphy replaced goalscorer Ryan Kavuma-McQueen in the 58th minute against the Imps.

However, his appearance, which is just his fourth since last December, was disappointingly cut short with 15 minutes of the game remaining due to injury.

Physio Steve Hard was witnessed working with the former Cardiff and Norwich man on the pitch before the decision was taken to replace him with Marko Milovanovic.

There’s a chance Pompey were simply not wanting to take a risk with their 2024-25 player of the year following his recent injury worries.

The visitors were also leading 3-1 at the time.

However, seeing Murphy, who underwent a groin operation in the summer, will be disappointing for a player keen to kick-start his Pompey career.

More will be learnt on Murphy’s injury after the final whistle.