Chapter 1: What injuries has Josh Murphy faced this season?
John Massinio has defended the decision to play Josh Murphy through the pain barrier, with Pompey now facing a ninth consecutive game without their reigning player of the season. It's been a stop-start campaign for Murphy, who has missed a total of 17 matches this term.
The trouble began with a hamstring issue before the season even kicked off, and he then picked up an ankle problem against Southampton in September. After returning in October, the 30-year-old was thrown straight back into the action, as Pompey struggled with the same kind of injury crisis that has plagued their recent seasons.
By the end of last year Murphy was getting two injections just to get through a game, playing on a fractured metatarsal he suffered at Swansea in December, on top of separate hip and ankle issues. A hamstring injury picked up at Derby was the final straw, forcing the winger to the sidelines. Now Pompey must wait to find out how long the metatarsal fracture will keep him out.
Misenio isn't putting a timeline on that return, but he insists that having the former Oxford United man play through the pain was a necessity for the team. Josh has to see a specialist today about how that bone is healing, he said. Hopefully, it's progressed enough for him to get back out on the grass.
Chapter 2: How has Josh Murphy's pain management affected his performance?
They've had the scan, and the specialist will read it. We'll just have to wait and see what he says before we know more. I don't think there any doubts on his part, I just think it needed time to settle down. The biggest problem he had was that when he came back, we had to ask him to play 90 minutes week in week out.
Many of us remember when Josh Murphy went down and had to come off and we read in the papers the following morning that it was a hamstring problem, that he had been holding his foot, the top of his foot, when he sat there on the grass waiting for the medics to get to him. And he explained to them, it seemed to many people, that the problem was with the top of his foot.
But we were told that it was a hamstring injury. And I guess what we now understand is that it was a broken bone, the metatarsal, which is forever associated with David Beckham, of course, if you go back as far as that World Cup. when he broke a metatarsal and the countdown to the World Cup finals was on and the whole nation bated its breath.
I haven't heard of a metatarsal injury since, but here we have one.
Chapter 3: What is the current status of Josh Murphy's recovery?
And it was decided to give him injections twice, sometimes on the day of a game, in order to help him play with the pain. and one can only assume that careful research was done to ensure that no lasting damage would be done to the bones in his foot by playing football with a bone that is healing.
We miss him enormously, and we must remember, through all the trials and tribulations of this season, that we have been without four or five key players, players who walked onto the starting line-up, Every week. And we have been without Connor Ogilvie, who is our first choice left back by a distance, although his standings have done a very good job.
We were without Nick Schmidt for a considerable period of time, thanks to a very dubious piece of football by one from that lot up the road. And however, his understudy did a great job. We were without Connor Shaughnessy. Still are. He is our number one main number five player.
Chapter 4: How has Portsmouth coped with key player absences?
Paul tidies up around him, but it's Shaughnessy who goes for the big headers and wins them. And we've been without him. And we've been without Colby Bishop. Sometimes a bit without Colby Bishop, even when he's playing. But we are now without Colby Bishop. We'll have to see whether he makes it onto the pitch against Sheffield. But we've been without Josh Murphy. He's our player of the season.
He regularly makes the team of the championship because he is that good and everybody knows he's that good and the opposition know he's that good. And if he's playing, they have to make specific contingency plans to neutralise him.
Chapter 5: What are the predictions for the upcoming match against Sheffield United?
Now, our current stand in at left... Wing is doing a great job. Plenty of people have tried. Paul Bianchini didn't make it. And Yang is, where is he now? He's up at Coventry and he's not getting a game. Ming-Hyok. But Ali is doing a fantastic job. Will he be kept in the lineup when Murphy is better?
Only if Murphy needs to be brought back into the game gradually and maybe comes on as sub after 60 for whatever reason to give him a 30-minute blow.
Chapter 6: How does Portsmouth's home form compare to Sheffield United's away form?
However, let's cross all our fingers that the news that comes out of Fratton Park about the prognosis for the rest of his recovery is good. We're not expecting him back against Sheffield United, but please, may it be soon. This feels like a very tricky one to call.
Form over the last few months would suggest Sheffield United, but form over the last few weeks suggests a very close encounter, with the home advantage bound to give Pompey an advantage. Portsmouth sit 16th in the home form table so far this season.
Sheffield United sit in the same position in the away form table so there really is little to separate the two teams here, and to be honest, I think both teams would be quite happy with a point in this one. Portsmouth 1, Sheffield United 1 James Ray Portsmouth faced the tough task of trying to bounce back against Sheffield United here.
Pompey's results have performed drastically in 2026, but I'm still not convinced they have the attacking quality to score the goals required to survive. The same can't be said for SUFC, who have seen Patrick Bamford emerge as a real talisman. He's brought other attackers into games too and has played a key role in turning the Blades season around.
Chapter 7: What insights does Steve Bone provide about Portsmouth's future games?
Fratton Park is not an easy place to go though, and the visitors have won just one of their last six away games. Pompey will try to grind out a big win but I think the Blades will leave with a share of the points. Prediction, Portsmouth 1, Sheffield United 1.
Well, it's always interesting to get a neutral perspective on an upcoming game and find out what other people are saying about the current situation at Pompey. They're consistent, at least, in that both of those guys predict Pompey 1, Sheffield United 1. Not just the same result, a draw, but the same score. They haven't been brilliant with their predictions, the 72.
It's a hard game predicting football, but it's a fun game to hear what other people have to say and to have a go at it ourselves quietly. There is one contradiction in what they say, though, because Luke says that Pompey will work the home advantage, but also sort of caveats that by saying Portsmouth sits 16th in the home form table so far this season. That means we're in the bottom third.
And we know that it's not Fortress... this season yet. And, however, James Ray, who is a regular with the old Pompey predictions on the 72, he repeats the thing that he says every week when Pompey are at home, which is that Pompey are formidable when they are at home and it's a difficult place to go. He actually says it's a difficult place to go and it just isn't quite...
So difficult at the moment as it used to be. We toyed with Patrick Bamford, didn't we, before he went to Sheffield U? Probably because he preferred the geography to us. But he is starting to look quite the fiery forward and elegant forward that he once was. So shame there. from our point of view. But we look forward to seeing what he can produce on Saturday.
Every week on Pompey Sound, we like to get the thoughts of hard-bitten, professional, written journalist, sports journalist, Steve Bone, who is also something of a Pompey expert. And we usually end our chat, which is available as a podcast, by asking him for his five-star prediction for the upcoming game or games.
Yeah, I don't think I've got one right for a couple of weeks, so I need to return to form. I'm looking at the week as a two-game week, as I like to do. We do need to be carrying on winning our home games as a rule, because we're not picking up that many wins away from home. But I actually think we might just slip up a little bit, and I think we might end up drawing with Sheffield United.
I'm going to go for a 1-1 with Sheffield United and another goal from Ali, our new hero, Mr Ali. But I'm going to go for us to follow that up with a sneaky little 1-0 win at Charlton next midweek, which would be fine. If we get four points from those two, in whatever order and whatever style, I'll be more than happy. Absolutely.
And whether you listen to the Pompey Sound News bulletins on Pompey Sound's output, which is digital now, or you download the podcast, a reminder that Steve's chat is available elsewhere on Pompey Sound's output in its entirety, about 25 to 30 minutes long. But it's also, for your convenience, available in full as a podcast so that you can choose when to listen to it and how.
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