Portsmouth's Andy Cannon set for Wembley heartbreak after Sunderland blow

The midfielder was forced off 12 minutes from time in tonight’s 2-0 defeat against Lee Johnson’s side.

Pompey will now assess the extent of the damage, but he looks likely to miss Saturday’s EFL Trophy clash with Salford.

It would represent a cruel blow to the midfielder, who has been one of Pompey’s most consistent performers this term.

And his absence could potentially open the door for George Byers, while perhaps earning a squad return for Ben Close.

Kenny Jackett told The News: ‘Andy Cannon felt his hamstring and we took him off straight away.

‘Hopefully it’s not too bad, we just have to see in the next 48 hours how he reacts. We will see how it settles down in the next day or two.

‘We’ll see whether it gives George Byers a chance. I have generally always picked Andy and Tom (Naylor) and they have done very well, they’ve had good seasons both of them.

‘That has been the partnership and for George it has been tough to shift that.

‘If there are opportunities – and we’ll see how Andy is – he is capable of taking it.’

Against Sunderland, Byers was among five players dropped from the side which had started the 4-1 debacle at Northampton.

However, unlike Lee Brown, Rowan Curtis, Marcus Harness and Rasmus Nicolaisen, the Swansea loanee wasn’t included on the bench.

His absence from the 18-man squad against the Black Cats was a surprise.

And Jackett explained the reasoning behind Byers’ omission.

He added: ‘I wanted to just cover other areas in terms of the midfield and Andy and Tom have been very consistent.

‘George was at the game.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

On Saturday, March 13 Pompey will finally get their day at Wembley.

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