![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1_Rob-Atkinson.jpg\")
Bristol City loanee Rob Atkinson has missed Portsmouth’s last seven matches(Image: Photo by Peter Nicholls\/Getty Images)<\/p>\nRob Atkinson left Bristol City on loan during the January transfer window to join Portsmouth for the remainder of the seasonBristol City loanee Rob Atkinson has missed Portsmouth’s last seven matches(Image: Photo by Peter Nicholls\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has set out the potential timeline for Rob Atkinson to make his return from injury, suggesting Pompey’s Good Friday clash with Norwich City could be the right time for the Bristol City<\/a> loanee to feature in the starting line-up.<\/p>\n The 26-year-old departed Ashton Gate on a temporary basis, alongside both Kal Naismith and Fally Mayulu<\/a>, during the January transfer window. The defender hadn’t made a first-team appearance for the Robins in almost two years having suffered an ACL injury in February 2023 which was then followed by subsequent hamstring issues, so the decision was taken to allow him to build both his match fitness and confidence on loan at Fratton Park.<\/p>\n After an impressive start in Portsmouth colours, Atkinson was forced off with a calf injury<\/a> in the first half of Mousinho’s side’s win over QPR in February and has since missed each of Pompey’s last seven matches.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Liam Manning makes simple request of Bristol City fans travelling to Loftus Road for QPR clash<\/a>READ MORE: Liam Manning shares Scott Twine update ahead of QPR clash after recent Bristol City absence<\/a><\/p>\n Although there is a chance the former Oxford United man could return to the matchday squad when Derby County<\/a> visit Fratton Park on Saturday afternoon, Mousinho doesn’t think he’ll be ready to start against the Rams.<\/p>\n “Rob probably needs time,” the Pompey boss told The Portsmouth News<\/a>. “Perhaps he comes straight into the squad on Saturday. But I just think that, having been out for the period he has, Saturday is going to be too quick.<\/p>\n “We are in a position now where we have to take every single injury on its merits. There might have been times earlier in the season where we took a bit of a longer-term view. If we are looking at the last three or four games of the season, rather than give him an extra week, we have to give him a couple of days after he comes back in, hence he\u2019s not going to be fit for Derby.<\/p>\n Bristol City are fighting to secure their place in the play-off places and you won’t miss a beat with our free newsletter.<\/p>\n All the latest news, views, interviews, gossip and analysis concerning the Robins, delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n It’s completely free and you can sign up HERE<\/a><\/p>\n “Previously, we might have gone ‘We’ll do an extra week.’ Now I think it will be right for him to come back into the Norwich game. Something I have learnt through football is, particularly at the back end of the season, you need to make those decisions and make short-term decisions, bearing in mind player welfare as well.<\/p>\n “We don\u2019t want players to get injured unnecessarily, but we have to make short-term decisions and make sure we get things right and get results.”<\/p>\n Portsmouth currently sit 17th<\/a> in the Championship table, five places but just three points above the relegation zone having won just one of their last five league matches. Since Atkinson was sidelined in February, Pompey have picked up just six points from seven games despite securing 16 points from the eight matches the City loanee started before his injury.<\/p>\n Join Bristol City Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol City stories sent straight to your phone<\/strong><\/p>\n Bristol City Live<\/a> is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.<\/p>\n Through the app, we\u2019ll send the Bristol City news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.<\/p>\n To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select \u2018Join Community\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live<\/a> team.<\/p>\n We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.<\/p>\n To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose \u2018Exit group\u2019.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n Click here to join our WhatsApp community.<\/a><\/p>\n Although Portsmouth will have undoubtedly been hoping to see more of Atkinson on the pitch during his loan spell, Mousinho has been quick to praise the effect the 26-year-old has had on his squad when fit in the second half of the season.<\/p>\n “Look at the games Rob has played in for 90 minutes in, such as Sheffield United and Burnley<\/a>,” explained the Pompey boss. “Then there were the three wins on the spin against Cardiff, Oxford and QPR. He played in them all.<\/p>\n “He didn\u2019t play at West Brom<\/a>, he played against Middlesbrough<\/a> and Stoke. All of those games were either good performances or wins. Rob\u2019s made a massive, massive impact.”<\/p>\n READ MORE: ‘That’s the mad thing’ – Liam Manning makes transfer point amid Bristol City’s fight for top six<\/a>READ MORE: Haydon Roberts on last-minute winner dreams, play-off push and ‘special’ Bristol City connection<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rob Atkinson left Bristol City on loan during the January transfer window to join Portsmouth for the remainder…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14591,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,2686,748,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-14590","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-bristol-city-fc","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114326757938205077","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1744487785_996_2_Liam-Manning.jpg\")
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