Portsmouth key man suffers injury setback before Blackburn Rovers clash

Portsmouth defender Conor Shaughnessy has suffered an injury setback whilst striker Colby Bishop has been ruled out of starting against Blackburn Rovers.

Shaughnessy has been out since mid-August, having played a massive role in their League One title win. He's had a calf issue but it was hoped he could be back to play at Ewood Park.

However, manager John Mousinho revealed he's now suffered an injury on his other calf, ruling him out for six weeks.

“Unfortunately Conor has had another setback,” the Pompey boss told The News. “We’re looking at another six weeks for Conor.

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“He was back outside doing straight line running but he felt his other calf. He had a scan and it turns out there is a tear in the other calf. It’s new or it’s definitely new.

“There’s a bit of head scratching as to how that has been done and how it has happened. Everybody is frustrated and devastated for Conor in particular and the team because of how pivotal he is to our success."

Meanwhile, Bishop made his return to the fold after a heart operation in the summer against Preston North End. He scored from the penalty spot but having been out for a number of months, he won't be rushed.

"We can consider Colby starting from this weekend onwards, there’s no issues in terms of the cardio side of things.

‘The biggest consideration for us is the fact he’s been out for that long. We have to take it into consideration from a physical standpoint like it would be with any other lower limb injury.

"He spent time in a hospital bed, he spent time at home where he couldn’t properly walk, he couldn’t properly run. He was immobilised after such a major surgery, it has a huge impact on the body, even though it’s not knee or hip surgery. We have to take it into account.

"Having built up that 12 minutes against Preston, then with a good block of two weeks training since, maybe this weekend and the Millwall game comes too soon. But I don’t think we are too far off considering him for a full start."