John Mousinho has played down Josh Murphy’s injury fears, but another two Pompey players have been ruled out for the season opener against Leeds.
The left winger was taken off in the 43rd minute of Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Charlton after suffering a hit to his right ankle.
The injury occurred following a forceful but legitimate challenge by Addicks defender Kayne Ramsay.
It added to a dismal afternoon for the Blues, who put up a poor second-half performance as their troubling pre-season trend continued.
But Mousinho is confident about his summer signing from Oxford United being available for next weekend’s Championship start.
He told The News: ‘Josh is well; he has a knock on his ankle, but it is only a contact injury; he has not gone over on it.
‘There isn’t much cause for concern, but we’ll keep an eye on it. We’ll analyze the situation and see if a scan is necessary, but it appears to be a contact injury.It’s swelling up a little, but we’re not too worried about it.
Meanwhile, Tom McIntyre and new acquisition Jacob Farrell both missed the trip to The Valley due to injuries.
McIntyre sustained a tight hamstring against Wycombe last weekend and had to be substituted, ruling him out against MK Dons, while Farrell injured his knee in training.
Both will be
AWOL from the August 10 opener at Leeds.
Mousinho added: ‘Tom is now out due to an injury sustained against Wycombe, which will most likely last a few weeks. He is set to miss the start of the season.We didn’t expect Jacob’s injury to be too serious, but he’ll be out for a few weeks and will miss the first game.
‘With everything that’s going on with Jacob, such as coming here from Australia and not being able to settle into training right away, it’s important that we treat that one as we should.’
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