'To be honest' - Portsmouth's on-loan Brighton striker makes injury admission following goalscoring return after 11 weeks out

But the on-loan Brighton striker said his comeback was well worth the wait after he bagged Pompey’s second goal in their 2-0 win at the Kassam Stadium.

O’Mahony’s classy 90th-minute strike, following his 63rd-minute introduction as a substitute for Colby Bishop, helped secure the Blues just a second win on the road this season. It also moved Pompey seven points clear of the Championship relegation zone as they recorded back-to-back victories for only the second time this campaign.

As you would expect, the Irishman’s impact and impressive finish was warmly received by the 1,479 members of the Fratton faithful who made the trip to the U’s.

O’Mahony admitted he missed that feeling after 11 weeks out because of injury and after sitting through 17 Blues matches without featuring.

But at no point as he left the field of play at Swansea on November 30 with a side strain did he think the gap between Pompey appearances would be so big.

Speaking to the club website, the 20-year-old said: ‘It was nice to come back with a goal. It's been a long few weeks out, to be honest, a lot longer than what I thought it would be. But to come back for a 2-0 win and to come on and score is what you work hard for.

‘Initially, I thought it would probably be 3-4 weeks. Obviously, being over two-and-a-half months wasn’t what I wanted, but it’s days like this that you go in every morning, you try to progress with the rehab (that make it all worthwhile).

‘But it’s all down to the physio team - they helped me a lot and a big thanks to them because without them I wouldn’t have been as ready as I was. It’s been long, but I’m just delighted to be back and thankfully with a goal.’

O’Mahony captured moment on camera

O’Mahony, who has now scored three goals in 10 appearances for the Blues, marked the occasion with a selfie in front of the delighted away end.

He described finding the back of the net for the first time on October 5 - also against Oxford - as ‘the best feeling ever’. But he was soon turning his attentions to Pompey’s next hurdles - their upcoming games against QPR and Luton.

O’Mahony added: ‘When you see the ball hit the net, it’s the best feeling ever.

‘It's what you play football for. It’s days like this and, yeah, we'll enjoy today, we’ll enjoy the weekend but as soon as Monday comes we’ll be back on it for QPR and we’ve Luton after that, so two massive games for us and we’ll have full belief that we can go and win them.’

For your next Pomppey read: Brutal message to controversial ex-Portsmouth, Charlton and West Ham man after transfer turns sour