George Hirst hopes to be available for Pompey’s match against his former club

Posted Tuesday, December 07, 2021 by PA

Portsmouth forward George Hirst is hoping to recover from illness in time to face former club Sheffield Wednesday.

Forward Hirst and midfielder Joe Morrell missed the weekend FA Cup defeat to Harrogate due to a sickness bug which has hit Pompey’s squad, but both returned to full training on Monday.

Midfielder Louis Thompson has been ruled out for up to four weeks due to an abdominal strain as boss Danny Cowley’s injury troubles continue.

Striker John Marquis returned to the bench on Saturday after recovering from a tendon issue, but Clark Robertson, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Paul Downing, Liam Vincent and Jayden Reid are still out.

Wednesday trio Dennis Adeniran, Marvin Johnson and Liam Palmer are hoping to return to action in the Sky Bet League One clash.

Midfielder Adeniran and defender Johnson have missed the last four and five matches respectively due to hamstring injuries, while Palmer has been out for two games through illness.

Defender Dominic Iorfa (hip) and midfielder Sam Hutchinson (Achilles) are still out and on-loan Everton defender Lewis Gibson has returned to his parent club after a series of injuries.

Winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing is hoping to make his first start for the club after making his debut off the bench in the recent home draw against Wycombe.