John Mousinho has confirmed a major setback for Portsmouth’s preparations ahead of Saturday evening’s visit to promotion contenders Leicester City, who will undoubtedly feel even more confident of sustaining their impressive start to the 2025/26 Championship season as a consequence.
Portsmouth have experienced an inconsistent beginning to the campaign after securing survival in their first term back in the Championship in 14 years following promotion from League One.
Mousinho’s men have struggled to find rhythm, winning three, drawing three and losing three of their opening nine games, although they entered the October international break with a boost after securing a narrow 1-0 home triumph over then-league leaders Middlesbrough.
This weekend’s opposition, Leicester, have been right up there with Middlesbrough as one of the standout teams in the division so far, with the Foxes having only been beaten once. The East Midlands side remain unbeaten at the King Power Stadium and, in fact, across their previous seven outings, and will present a daunting challenge to Portsmouth when they make the trip to Leicestershire on Saturday.
The challenge, however, is only set to grow tougher following an important update delivered by Mousinho on Wednesday afternoon.
John Mousinho confirms new Josh Murphy, Portsmouth injury setback ahead of Leicester City:
It’s no surprise that Portsmouth have found consistency and goals hard to come by in the absence of Josh Murphy, who has appeared just four times so far due to a lingering ankle problem.
The skilful winger established himself among the best and most influential attacking players in the Championship last season after making a high-profile move from newly-promoted Oxford United, where he had inspired their return to the second tier with a brace in the play-off final win over Bolton Wanderers.
Revitalised at Fratton Park under Mousinho’s management, Murphy registered seven goals and a league-high 14 assists in his best-ever season for the former Norwich City and Cardiff wide man. However, injuries have curtailed his influence in the early stages of this campaign.
The 30-year-old missed Portsmouth’s opener away at Oxford but made a return before being sidelined again for games against Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich Town, Watford and Middlesbrough.
His status appeared uncertain ahead of the Leicester trip, though Mousinho has now confirmed that Murphy, who is set to resume training this week, will sit out the upcoming fixtures against the Foxes and league leaders Coventry City, with the intention of being fit for next weekend’s home clash with Stoke.
The Pompey boss explained: “We’re still monitoring Murph’s situation, he’s okay.
“We’ve been very, very cautious and that will be the case for next week or so. It will most likely be Stoke for him rather than Leicester or Coventry. That will give him an extra week’s training.
“At this stage for Murph’s it’s more about getting it right, whereas before it was looking as we went and saying it’s touch and go.
Now we need to get him back and make sure he’s not exposed to further injury.
“It’s dragged on longer than we’ve hoped, but we expect him to train this Friday and give him a good week to get back for Stoke.”
Leicester City, Marti Cifuentes will appreciate John Mousinho’s Josh Murphy update at Portsmouth:
Mousinho’s update, quite understandably, delivers an immediate setback for Portsmouth, even though the south coast club will ultimately benefit later by adhering to the manager’s patience in ensuring the key man fully recovers before returning, rather than risking further complications.
Leicester, however, as expected, will feel quite the opposite.
After a string of sparkling performances at Fratton Park last season, Murphy is widely regarded as Portsmouth’s standout player. His flair, pace, and direct approach, combined with his goal threat and precise deliveries into dangerous areas, make him a genuine menace for nearly every Championship defence.
Leicester are well aware of Murphy’s quality too, having shown interest in signing the winger toward the end of the summer transfer window.
He would’ve been a clever addition to the squad of new boss Marti Cifuentes, who can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing his team won’t have to come up against Murphy this weekend.