‘You're obviously looking at’: Who Portsmouth should turn to if duo are ruled out of Luton game

That’s the verdict of The News’ chief sports writer Neil Allen, who believes the makeshift centre-back should be the best option to partner Regan Poole at the heart of the back line against Luton.

The debate comes after John Mousinho remained tight-lipped over the Blues’ injury issues ahead of Saturday’s trip to Kenilworth Road.

With the head coach opting to stay silent, that has prompted some Pompey fans to question the fitness of Rob Atkinson, who was withdrawn from Saturday’s 2-1 win against QPR, and Hayden Matthews, who left Fratton Park in a protective boot following the triumph.

With Conor Shaughnessy also out with a hamstring issue, Regan Poole and Ryley Towler are the Blues’ only natural centre-back options, while Pack and Connor Ogilvie could also come in.

Speaking in the latest episode of Pompey Talk which you can view here, our chief sports writer gave his view on Pompey’s defensive situation ahead of Saturday’s visit to Luton.

He said: ‘We don’t know the state of the injuries but the way those two left the ground, you’d imagine it would take a miracle to be available for this game. Beyond that we have no idea.

‘So you’re obviously looking at Poole, that goes without saying, and then Pack. I know Pack gets a bit of stick and he’s had some poor away games but he’s been very good at home.

‘Let’s not forget Towler has been left out of the squad recently because Mousinho favoured other centre-halves ahead of him.

‘Towler’s done okay in the Championship and clearly the manager regards every other centre-half apart from Tom McIntyre ahead of him for a reason.

‘It’ll be interesting to see how they line-up but let’s hope the two guys Matthews and Atkinson are available next week and beyond but we don’t know at the moment.’

Despite the problem looming over Pompey and Mousinho, Allen believes the situation is not be as bad as some fans are making it out to be,with the Blues currently sitting nine points above the relegation zone.

He added: ‘Pompey are fortunate they have got a nine-point gap above the relegation zone, so they’ve got points on the board which is really important. I’m not saying if they don’t win another game they won’t go down but they’ve got those nine points on the board.

‘Shaughnessy got his injury giving Pompey a win with that headed goal (against Cardiff) so he’s served a good purpose. I think the way Mousinho looks at it is that they’ve got the points. They still need three wins but they’ve got points on the board.

‘It’s not like they’re in the relegation zone, they’ve lost their best centre-half pairing and they’re adrift, but they’ve got a bit of a cushion. If you look at the relegation situation with Derby, Luton, Plymouth, they can’t string wins together - same with Hull and Cardiff. They get the occasional win but can’t string wins together.

‘Pompey have just won three in a row and have rocketed up the league. You would be concerned about losing your two best centre-halves but they’ve got points on the board, half of the games are at Fratton Park.

‘It’s a concern but not as much as if Pompey were in the relegation zone.’

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