Portsmouth striker Oli Hawkins is set to miss out on his side's clash with Sunderland on Saturday due to a foot problem, Pompey boss Kenny Jackett has confirmed.

Hawkins has not yet featured in a competitive match this season after failing to make the match day squad for either league fixtures and remaining on the bench during Pompey's Carabao Cup tie with Birmingham.

Jackett has now confirmed - as reported by BBC reporter Andrew Moon - that Hawkins will again sit out the club's Saturday lunchtime clash with the Black Cats alongside Ryan Williams and Bryn Morris.

The Pompey boss said the club would keep Hawkins off training for "four or five more days", while he did not give a timeframe on the injuries to Williams and Morris who have been injured since the start of the season.

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Hawkins was involved in 19 goals during his 48 appearances for Portsmouth last term as they reached the League One play-off semi-finals, where they lost to this weekend's opponents Sunderland.

The verdict

You only need to look at Hawkins' stats to see how much of an integral figure he was to Pompey last season, so I'm sure Jackett will be keen to have the striker back fit as soon as possible.

However, Portsmouth have strengthened their attacking department this summer with the arrivals of Ellis Harrison and John Marquis, while Jackett can also call on Brett Pitman.

Harrison and Marquis both played 45 minutes last weekend as they swapped directly for each other at half-time with Pitman replacing Andy Cannon in the second half, suggesting Jackett is keen to experiment with his options.

Hawkins will be desperate to get back to full fitness as soon as he can to ensure these strikers don't leapfrog him in Jackett's selection policy.