John Mousinho addresses Portsmouth future of forgotten former West Ham man

The Blues’ forgotten man is now over his injuries and will be handed pre-season to demonstrate he can play a part in their Championship return.

Ligament damage to the winger’s left knee during his August 2023 debut against Bristol Rovers devastated his maiden Fratton Park campaign, going on to feature just nine times.

In his lengthy absence, Pompey claimed the League One title, with Paddy Lane and Abu Kamara playing starring roles in the wide positions.

Certainly Scully has plenty of ground to cover to catch up and, with the players back for pre-season on Thursday, Mousinho will be monitoring how he fares.

The Blues boss told The News: ‘I spoke to Sculls recently and he’s fit, he’s back at it. We want to make sure he’s had some rest over the summer, he sometimes does a bit too much.

‘At the back end of last season he was hugely disappointed with last year, particularly with injuries and the fact he could never quite get himself going. It was important for him to reset this summer and come back and compete.

‘With players like Sculls, it’s all about judging them from the first day of pre-season. So come back, we’ll look at his fitness, his sharpness, where he is football-wise - and he’ll have that chance to compete for a shirt going into the season.

‘We were massively excited about Anthony and he started the season in the team because he’d earned his shirt after being one of the better performers. Unfortunately, he picked up an injury quite early on, tried to get through it and didn’t manage to do that.

‘Then it was a series of injuries after that, he just couldn't get his body right, that's why the summer has been important for him.

‘There is no way anyone has seen the best of Anthony Scully at all and the reason we signed him is because he had a huge impact in the two League One seasons he played at Lincoln. Wigan then obviously took him into the Championship.

‘He had a disappointing year there and then a disappointing season for us, but there’s still that potential there - and it's down to him to show it.

‘It’s down to Anthony to see how he comes back and performs, then we’ll go from there.’

Pompey’s players return for two days of testing from Thursday, before training begins on Monday, July 1.

And ex-West Ham man Scully is expected to be among them, along with fit-again centre-half Tom McIntyre.

Mousinho added: ‘He’s absolutely fine now. Pre-season is massive for him, it is for everyone, even the lads that played 40-odd games last year. They have to come back and must be at it.

‘We don’t have the time or luxury to carry any players or to wait until September/October to get up to speed.

‘It will probably feel more important in Anthony’s head because of the fact he’s had a couple of disappointing years now in terms of games played and output, but it’s important for everyone to make sure they hit the ground running when they come back.’