Pompey hope Joe Morrell can warm up for the World Cup by helping the Blues win at Morecambe this Saturday.

The midfielder joins up with the Wales squad for Qatar after being part of the squad in action in the north-west, where Pompey aim to get their league campaign back on track after successive home draws.

Boss Danny Cowley is excited for Morrell and told the club website: “He has trained diligently every single day and the tournament isn’t the reason why he hasn’t found his rhythm yet.

'It’s been a bit stop-start for him so far and a case of playing catch-up, which can happen when you don’t get a proper pre-season under your belt. Joe is a really good professional and someone we think a lot of, but his focus will be on facing Morecambe on Saturday.

'Once we navigate through that, he can look forward to going out to Qatar with Wales and playing at a World Cup. It’s a brilliant moment for him. We’ll be supporting him in every game out there — except, perhaps, for the one against England! I know his family will be super proud — but so are we.

'I think he’s an inspiration for all our young players to see what’s possible and we look forward to him coming back and having a real impact in the second half of the season.'

Cowley has relished having a whole week between games to prepare the Blues for the Morecambe clash.

He told the website: 'It’s been good to be out training on the pitches and to get one or two players back. We’ve had an opportunity to keep developing the team technically and tactically, working both in and out of possession, as well as on set-pieces.

'That sets us up nicely ahead of a long journey up to Morecambe, where Derek Adams has done a very good job. They can use different systems and are organised, while their recent home form has been strong, beating Barnsley and drawing with Derby.

'We know it will be tough, but we feel we’re in a good place and are looking forward to attacking the game. The group has done really well to navigate through a tough period, with so many players out in the middle of the pitch.'

Photo: Action Images

gotfluttering added 02:45 - Dec 26 The club will benefit, we know this is a significant amount of money for Joe and it’s great we’re getting some compensation because, let’s be honest, we have lost a player and it has been a difficult start to the season (for him) as a consequence. https://pacman-30thanniversary.com
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