Portsmouth Winger Luke Brooke-Smith Faces Long Injury Layoff

Portsmouth winger Luke Brooke-Smith faces a long spell on the sidelines after suffering a serious ankle injury in training that could rule him out for the rest of the season.

The 18-year-old, a summer signing from Wellington Phoenix, dislocated his ankle in what boss John Mousinho described as a “really unfortunate” incident at the training ground.

“It’s a really unfortunate one, he’s suffered a severe ankle dislocation,” Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent. “Off the back of that, there is a fracture on his fibula and significant ligament damage. It was dealt with really well by everyone at the training ground and he was taken to QA [Queen Alexandra Hospital] before being discharged.

“We’re going to leave it to settle for a couple of days, but he will go in for surgery after that.”

The injury is a brutal blow just as Brooke-Smith was beginning to find his feet in English football. Since arriving permanently from New Zealand in the summer, he has made four appearances for Pompey this season, starting once in the Championship and coming off the bench in his other outings.

For a teenager trying to carve out a place in a competitive squad, the timing could hardly be worse.

Brooke-Smith later shared his own reaction on Instagram, laying bare the shock of the moment.

“No words with how I’m feeling right now,” he wrote. “A freak incident in training causing me to dislocate my ankle, break fibula and potential ligament damage.

“As I don’t know the severity yet I’m trying my best to stay positive in a really hard time for me. I will work my hardest to get back out on the pitch to play for this amazing club.

“Thank you to all the staff and players for getting around me.”

Portsmouth will now plan the rest of their campaign without one of their brightest young wide options, while Brooke-Smith turns his focus to surgery, rehab and the long road back to Fratton Park.