Update on Haji Mnoga's Portsmouth future and hopes of James Bolton being fit for Barnsley FA Cup clash

Haji Mnoga’s Pompey exit is on the backburner.
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But the door is ajar for the prospect to leave Fratton Park once the Blues’ right-back options become clearer.

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But with James Bolton picking up a thigh injury and Ross McCrorie only returning from parent club Rangers today after treatment on his hamstring, Jackett has shut down the move.

Jackett said: ‘He’s not going now. It’s gone with James’ slight injury.

‘We’ve got Ross coming back. He’s had a long time away and we’re going to be careful with him.

‘We’ll be very unlucky if he gets injured but with James as well there may be chances, so he’s not going out now.

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‘Going to the National League goes beyond January so that won’t close at the end of January.

Pompey defender Haji MnogaPompey defender Haji Mnoga
Pompey defender Haji Mnoga

‘We’ll reassess it if both lads are fit or we think we’ve got enough around, because it would be good for him.

‘Is he going before Saturday, though? No, there’s a big week ahead.

‘We have three games in eight days, it’s an exciting time and we’ll need everyone.’

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A scan on his injury came back with positive news, with the plan to see how the 25-year-old deals with training before deciding if he’s available.

Jackett explained he could use McCrorie, but his preference would be for the Scotland under-21 captain to come back into his selection thinking for the trip to Lincoln on Tuesday.

He added: ‘James is in with a chance. He’s looking to train and that was a bit of a surprise for me. I wasn’t expecting it.

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‘It’s eased up a lot for him, he’s had a scan and there’s nothing too bad in there.

‘So hopefully we can flush it out tomorrow morning and he can get out and train.

‘I wasn’t expecting it, but we’ll see now. If he limps in after 20 minutes of training it will be no good, but we hope he’s okay.

‘I could play Ross but I would think the common sense approach would be to wait.

‘He’s trained fine and there’s been no problem, but I would more consider him for Tuesday than Saturday.’

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