Portsmouth boss offers honest Callum Lang fitness verdict after Preston North End switch

John Mousinho has offered a fitness verdict over Callum Lang after his deadline day switch.

And the Portsmouth boss has made it clear his side will be prepared for the possibility of facing the forward at Deepdale this weekend.

The 27-year-old completed his much-anticipated move to Lancashire in the final knockings of the winter market, bringing an end to a transfer saga, which lasted the majority of the window.

PNE moved to land Lang and paid a club-record fee for his services after an impressive two-year stay at Fratton Park, which saw him net 16 goals in 53 appearances.

However, injuries blighted large parts of his stay on the south coast, with three separate hamstring issues limiting the ex-Wigan Athletic man to just 11 outings in his final 12 months at the club.

The versatile operator was back in training prior to his Portsmouth departure on Monday, having missed more than a month with a fresh set-back sustained on Boxing Day.

Portsmouth boss on Callum Lang’s fitness

Lang has since been spotted in training with Paul Heckingbottom’s side this week as he acclimatises himself to life at Deepdale.

Mousinho, though, has admitted the forward would’ve been fit enough to feature for the Blues for their postponed game against Ipswich Town on Tuesday if he had remained on the south coast.

He told The News: ‘I have no idea. We’ll be prepared if he does and we’ll be prepared if he doesn’t.

‘Yeah if he was in the building on Tuesday night, he would’ve been available for selection against Ipswich.’

Callum Lang’s injury record a consideration for Pompey over exit

Mousinho made it clear he wasn’t prepared to stand in a player’s way if he wasn’t convinced the player would be ‘wholeheartedly in it’ as he explained Lang’s exit.

The head coach also admitted the 27-year-old’s injury record was also a key reason why he sanctioned the deadline day move.

He added: ‘Callum’s injury record came up, he always plays at full tilt and he picked up a few injuries in the last 12 months, so that definitely came into our thinking.

‘The greatest predictor of future hamstring injuries is what has happened in the past? You can try to break down things as much as you want, but if you’ve had a chequered history of hamstring injuries - and we’ve got a couple in the building at the moment - the past is a good indicator of what might happen in the future.

‘I am not saying that would happen and we will obviously see, but that did come into consideration.’

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