Portsmouth Grapple with Mounting Injury Woes Ahead of Charlton Athletic Fixture
Portsmouth's preparations for their midweek Championship clash against Charlton Athletic have been severely hampered by a deepening injury crisis, with the club confirming a season-ending blow for loan star Aji Alese. The defender, who joined from Premier League side Sunderland in January, has returned to his parent club after tearing a quad muscle in his brief debut appearance.
Injury Toll Rises to 12 Players for Pompey
The News reports that Portsmouth will be without a staggering 12 players for the Tuesday night match at The Valley, exacerbating manager John Mousinho's selection headaches. This comes as Charlton Athletic, sitting 18th in the table, host a Portsmouth side teetering just above the relegation zone in 21st place, with six points separating the two teams.
Nathan Jones' Charlton have shown recent resilience, building on a three-game unbeaten run that includes a 1-0 victory over Stoke City. However, the focus remains on Portsmouth's plight, with the initial December fixture between these sides having been halted due to a tragic fatality in the stands.
Alese's Loan Spell Cut Short by Devastating Injury
Aji Alese, a 25-year-old defender, was recruited by Portsmouth to bolster defensive options, making his debut as a substitute in a match against Preston North End earlier this month. Having previously featured only in Sunderland's under-21 side this season, his move to the Championship was seen as a chance for first-team experience.
Tragically, Alese sustained a quad tear during that cameo appearance, an injury confirmed by Mousinho as season-ending. The Portsmouth boss explained, "Aji has unfortunately torn his quad at Preston and that's him out for the season. We took Aji on with the full understanding he'd not played for a while, and we felt he was good enough to play 15 minutes and build up from there. Unfortunately, it happened pretty early when he came on."
Mousinho Addresses Transfer Market Realities and Team Morale
Mousinho highlighted the challenges Portsmouth face in the transfer market, noting they are not in a position to sign proven, fit Championship defenders. "These are the sort of deals we're in for," he said, referencing similar situations like last year's acquisition of Rob Atkinson. Alese has now returned to Sunderland for treatment, leaving Portsmouth to cope without him.
Further compounding the injury woes, Adrian Segecic and Andre Dozzell picked up knocks in a 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United on Saturday and are not even included in the confirmed list of 12 injured players. Mousinho admitted the situation is hard to digest, urging his team to remain positive and improve their performance levels.
"I wanted to remain positive, but also for them to wake up and realise we're a good team when we put everything together," he stated. "We need to be a lot better in certain moments. Since around the Blackburn game, we've kicked on, and beyond that, we've been a pretty good side—but we do need to put some of these games away."
As Portsmouth navigate this crisis, the match against Charlton Athletic becomes a critical test of their resilience and depth in a challenging Championship season.
