John Mousinho is adamant Regan Poole will surpass the outstanding levels he reached last season as he battles through a challenging Pompey period.
However, as he prepares to return from a 10-month injury layoff, the Blues manager thinks the defender will require some time to get to his peak.
In the game’s pivotal moment, eight minutes from the end, the 26-year-old was muscled off the ball by Regan Poole Obafemi, marring an otherwise excellent performance at Plymouth on Tuesday night.
After a stellar start to his Pompey career, which included a man-of-the-match performance at Burnley in September, Poole was brilliant in his first start since he injured his anterior cruciate ligament at Chesterfield last November.
Following a protracted layoff, the center defender’s form has fluctuated, with some challenging periods evident. his personal experiences with a similar injury to Poole, feeling that a 12-week recovery period is necessary.
I’ve always maintained that I consider the 12-week mark following a catastrophic accident like that to be an excellent opportunity to fully recover.
He was outstanding when he returned against Burnley. Since then, there have been both disappointing and good performances for him.
“He knew he needed to be a little stronger in that moment (for the goal), but he was good for 99 percent of the Plymouth game.”
When we return from the international break in two weeks and play Blackburn, I believe Regan will be fully recovered.
“I have no doubt that Ryan will reach his goals and surpass his performance from the previous year.” I’m actually
He went above and beyond what he did the previous year. I have a lot of confidence in that.
Mousinho also emphasized how Pompey has been largely dependent on Poole ever since he returned to the squad due to Conor Shaughnessy’s injury.
The Pompey manager views the situation as far from ideal after the former Lincoln player has made nine consecutive starts without any breathing room.
The second thing we haven’t been able to do is remove him from the team altogether, Mousinho continue
He simply hasn’t enjoyed that luxury. To be fair to him, there were occasions when we would have removed him from the team due to his physical condition, but as of right now, we don’t have another right-sided center-half.
