"Quite a lot of blood" - Portsmouth FC star drops positive update after Norwich City scare | OneFootball

It was a rough and tumble night for the Pompey defenders.

Portsmouth defender Tom McIntyre has calmed fears over his future availability after sustaining a pretty nasty facial blow in his side's 0-0 draw with Norwich City.

The unbeaten run of Pompey was extended to four games on Tuesday night when they limited the Canaries at Fratton Park. There's still a long way to go before they topple their record for longest stretch of games without losing under John Mousinho but the points earned from the last four matches have dragged them out of the relegation zone.

The midweek match wasn't all positive for Portsmouth, though. Centre-half Regan Poole was forced off at halftime after he felt a problem in his hamstring. He was replaced by McIntyre, who then ended up in a bloody mess after a clash of heads with captain Marlon Pack.

Conor Shaughnessy's frustrating fitness issues has already given Pompey problems at the back this season. With both Poole and McIntyre walking away from Norwich with their own battle wounds, there was an understandable worry about the state of Mousinho's defensive options.

Thankfully, the Scottish centre-back has calmed those fears.

Tom McIntyre's positive update after Norwich scare

The 26-year-old stressed after the match that his nose wasn't feeling too bad. If he and Poole were to miss Friday's clash with Derby County because of the head clash, Ryley Towler would be the only fit central defender.

The ex-Reading defender said, via The News: "It (the nose) looks pretty sore - and it is pretty sore! There was quite a lot of blood, which was the issue at the time. It rocked me a little bit.

"It was off Marlon’s head actually, so I’ve got him to thank for it. I think he (Ashley Barnes) may have pushed me into the back of his head.

"I’m hoping it doesn’t ruin my wonderful looks! It (coming off) is always a bit of a worry with head injuries and facial injuries.

"You know when it’s bad, though, and it wasn’t too bad - it was just a bit of blood. It’s something you’ve just got to get on with in that situation."

The Portsmouth manager gave an update on Poole too. He returned from a major knee injury earlier in the season and has been slowly finding his feet in the Championship. Mousinho admitted that he's not sure whether the former Lincoln City man will be ready to go against the Rams.

"Regan’s okay, he felt tiredness in his hamstring, the same side where he’d had the hamstring graft this time last year when he did his ACL," said the boss, also via The News.

"The ACL needed to be reconstructed with a hamstring tendon - and it was taken from the side that Regan felt on Tuesday night, so we need to be cautious."

Portsmouth's luck has to change at some point

It's getting on nearly a year since this constant cycle of injuries started at Fratton Park. Every team deals with injuries all the time, but this is on another level.

It's not just little knocks and niggles that can be sorted with painkillers and injections, it's been major injuries, one after another.

Now, the problems that McIntyre and Poole suffered on Tuesday evening aren't thought to be so bad that they will keep them out for weeks and months, but there's plenty of that going on around them in the dressing room.

It surely has to change at some point. They've already won a league title despite it, but can they avoid relegation in the midst of it?