Bristol Rovers v Portsmouth injury latest as 9 ruled out and 2 doubts

Joey Barton has been dealt a double-whammy with Bristol Rovers set to be without midfield duo Paul Coutts and Sam Finley this weekend for their League One clash with Portsmotuh.

Coutts is set to require surgery for a knee injury sustained in training a fortnight ago and that could be his season and Rovers career done. “Couttsy is possibly going to require surgery,” Barton said about the 34-year-old. “It could be tricky for him now to get back to full fitness.”

Coutts is the club captain but in his absence Sam Finley has played but the dynamic midfielder is still battling an illness. He has missed the last two matches and was sent home from training which makes him a doubt. Luca Hoole missed Tuesday’s match against Wycombe through illness but is in a better position to feature.

Rovers are already without Jordan Rossiter and Jordan Grant, who are out for the remainder of the campaign, leaving them short of central midfield options. Utility man Harry Anderson is also out for the next three weeks at least after undergoing an operation for a groin problem.

Both clubs have players missing through suspension with right-back James Gibbons serving the second of two games for a charge of improper conduct. Portsmouth meanwhile have decided against appealing Joe Pigott’s red card and he will be unavailable for the next three games. He was sent off for a collision with Toby Savin, and they still believe it was a harsh dismissal.

Mousinho said to The News: “Even though we stick by our original case on Tuesday night – we don’t think it’s a red card, we think it’s harsh, he was just going for the ball – there doesn’t seem to be enough there to warrant putting in an appeal.

‘We know how the system works and we think there’s a zero-per-cent chance of it being overturned – and also, the way things work, we don’t want to add an extra game on to the top of that.”

Portsmouth have Clark Robertson available at their disposal again, and Mousinho could pick him for the first time since he took over in January. Jay Mingi is also available as an option in a timely boost for the Pompey boss.

Ronan Curtis is out for the remainder of the campaign however with an ACL injury, whilst former Bristol City midfielder Marlon Pack is not in consideration. Zak Swanson is ruled out for another two to three weeks.