Murphy to miss eight weeks after surgery - Mousinho

Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho has revealed that winger Josh Murphy will be sidelined for eight weeks after the club decided he should have an operation on his groin injury.

The 31-year-old went off during Pompey's 3-1 victory over Lincoln on 22 August and has now had surgery to try and fix the issue.

Murphy had only just returned to fitness after barely featuring in pre-season following an injury-plagued 2025-26 campaign.

Despite the latest injury setback, Mousinho is hoping the surgery will provide a solution to an ongoing issue.

"We've got a little bit more clarity on Josh's situation now," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"We decided at the back end of last week that there were a couple of procedures that Josh had to undergo to finally clear up a couple of issues he was having.

"We expect Josh to be out for about eight weeks all together we are extreamly hopeful that this is going to be the end of some of the issus that he's had.

"We took the decision to get him in a good spot physically he'll hopefully be in a good spot to compete for the rest of the season, I'm really positive there is light at the end of the tunnel."

Murphy joined Portsmouth from Oxford in the summer of 2024 and has so far made 60 appearances for the Blues, scoring seven goals, with 20 assists.

The timeframe set out by Mourinho should see the winger return to action in late October.

Portsmouth next face Derby County on Tuesday night at Fratton Park.