Portsmouth attacker Jayden Reid is set to be forced to watch on from the sidelines for six weeks due to a hamstring injury that he sustained earlier this month.

As reported by The News, Reid visited a specialist to discover the extent of his issue and will now miss the first month of the 2022/23 campaign.

The 21-year-old suffered this injury in an aerial challenge with Bristol City defender Timm Klose in last week's pre-season friendly.

Reid would have been hoping to be available for the start of the new term after missing the entirety of the previous season due to a serious knee injury.

However, the former Walsall man will now need to wait until he is fit enough to feature for Pompey in League One.

Portsmouth will be determined to secure a positive result in the absence of Reid when they face Sheffield Wednesday on July 30th.

Ahead of this upcoming clash, Pompey head coach Danny Cowley has offered his reaction to Reid's setback.

Speaking to The News, Cowley said: "Unfortunately it sums the boys luck up, he doesn't deserve it.

"He has worked so hard and got himself into such a good place - and we really feel for him.

"Ryan Tunnicliffe did the same last season, he got his heel caught in the grass, the same muscle.

 

 

"They are the first two injuries like that in my career.

"We work them really hard in pre-season, so you'll get soft-tissue injuries, but not like these ones, this is out of the range.

"It's just a freak incident where Jayden ended up hyperextending the hamstring, it's the semitendinosus which he has torn, which is unique."

The Verdict

This is a significant blow for Reid who was preparing himself for a return to competitive action by participating in pre-season before picking up this injury.

Given that Pompey will not be able to call upon his services until September, they will need fellow attackers Ronan Curtis, Joe Pigott and Michael Jacobs to deliver the goods in their upcoming fixtures.

When Reid is fit enough to feature for Portsmouth, it will be interesting to see whether he is able to make an impact in League One as he has yet to make an appearance in this division during his career.

It could be argued that Pompey may find it beneficial to ease Reid into action as this will minimise the risk of him suffering another injury setback.