Injuries leave Pompey 'incredibly short' in attack

Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho has said that his side are "incredibly short" in their front four positons because of current injuries. The Blues have won two of their six Championship games so far this season, scoring seven goals as they sit 18th in the standings. Injuries to Josh Murphy and Luke Brooke-Smith have limited their options out wide, while new signings Marko Milovanovic and Abu Kamara have taken time to get up to speed. The Pompey head coach believes that a lack of options and competition in their attacking positions have contributed to a slow start, but hopes some returning players will be able to help get them firing. Mousinho revealed that Keshi Anderson had returned to training with the hope that he could play after the upcoming international break, while Milovanovic is "50-50" to play on Saturday against Blackburn following a calf injury. "We still haven't had a settled front four," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent. "Finding that balance is something that we've tried to do over the last few weeks but haven't been able to do due to injury or changes in form. "If you look at the frontline in general right now we're incredibly short because of the injuries we have. Ideally we'd like to have two wingers competing for those spots and I'd like to have three centre-forwards fit at all times. "We're trying to find solutions and it's been a real challenge. I'm really confident that when we get some people back and clicking then we'll be great." Brooke-Smith's serious ankle injury came during a recent training session, with fears that he could miss the rest of the season. The 18-year-old summer signing suffered a severe ankle dislocation, fractured his fibula and sustained significant ligament damage. "Luke had surgery (on Tuesday) which was successful," Mousinho added. "It's still going to be a long-term injury but we'll be hopeful to have him back in the new year."