'You could see his eyes were lit up' - Portsmouth handed further injury boost ahead of MK Dons game at Fratton Park

The defender, who has been out injured since the beginning of September with a groin injury that has required two operations, has stepped up his recovery from a nightmare spell on the sidelines.

He trained on the grass at the Blues’ Roko training base on Thursday. And while Rafferty was restricted in what he could do, it still represented an important milestone in the former Preston right-back’s comeback bid.

So much so that Pompey boss Danny Cowley is hoping the 29-year-old will be back in first-team contention soon rather than later.

Rafferty was initially ruled out for three months after going under the knife for a second time at the beginning of November.

Early February was pencilled in as a potential return date, but there’s a genuine hope the Scouser can be back in contention before then.

And Cowley believes that’s a situation that both he and the player is excited about.

'It’s really early for Joe on the grass, so just some straight line running for him at the moment,’ said the Blues head coach.

‘But, yeah, he's back on the training pitch and we're hopeful that the original diagnosis (isn't as bad as what was first feared).

'He's worked incredibly hard and we're hoping that we're going to be able to reduce that time and get back sooner than we first thought.

'He's a great kid, Joe. He loves football, he misses it every day and just to get his boots on today (Thursday) and get out on the training pitch was a real positive for him.

‘Speaking to him afterwards, you could see his eyes were lit up and, certainly, there's light at the end of the tunnel for him.’

WIth Louis Thompson and Tom Lowery also closing in on returns, and Michael Jacobs back, things are beginning to look up for Pompey on the injury front.

Zak Swanson, who has stepped up to the plate in Rafferty’s absence, remains the only other first-team regular concern at present.

But even he’s pushing for a return from the stomach muscle injury which has seen the former Arsenal youngster sit out the Blues’ past two games.

Cowley added: ‘We came through well on Tuesday night (against Stevenage), came through unscathed, which is always a real positive, particularly in the Baltic conditions that we had.

'It's good that they all came through. The boys have been on the grass, and Zak's been on the grass today, too, so, yeah, things are looking positive.’