‘He’s got to stay fit’: Portsmouth boss lays in on line for Aussie favourite ahead of QPR and Cardiff City returns
It will be difficult for Kusini Yengi to demonstrate his championship value and put together a run of fitness.
As he welcomes the Australian striker back into the lineup for the weekend trip to QPR, Pompey manager John Mousinho is making that demand.
Yengi is expected to play this weekend when his club travels to Loftus Road, marking his first appearance for the Blues in seven weeks and only his third appearance overall.
A groin injury sustained during the pregame warm-up prior to West Brom’s defeat at the beginning of last month has plagued the 25-year-old. That came after a similar problem had delayed his season’s start, just before the August opening game against Leeds.
Pompey has been especially irritated because they recently learnt that Colby Bishop will be out for an extended period of time following heart surgery.
Cutting edge has been a problem without Yengi, as the team has only scored four goals in their last six games. This season has had its longest winless start since the war.
Mousinho now wants to see the Socceroo show the form that he saw during a thrilling inaugural campaign in English football.
“Having him back in training has been a really big boost,” he stated.
Following the Oxford game on Wednesday, he reported back to training, and he has trained every day since.
“He needs to fight for his spot on the team and maintain his fitness.”
“The most important thing for him is to show what he showed last season and a lot more.”
The good news for Pompey is that Yengi has had some time to train following his period out, as he was not required to report to Australia during the most recent international break.
The striker wasn’t quite ready to be considered for selection last week, but the Blues and the Socceroos had a good conversation.
“We spoke with Australia, and they were great with it,” Mousinho continued. Over the previous few weeks, they understood that getting him back and reintegrating him into training was a component of his rehabilitation.
“He wouldn’t have been correct, and Australia knew that, had we played last weekend.”
