Ben C.lose is hoping an injury-free spell will finally give him a proper Pompey breakthrough.

The locally-raised midfielder has suffered a succession of hamstring problems over the past year or more but is praying they are now behind him and he can push on and try to claim a spot in the first-team midfield.

Close told The News: 'Injury has held me back, 100 per cent. Previously I was never really feeling fully fit. ‘Even in training, when coming back from those injuries, I wasn’t really feeling myself and that was holding me back.

‘I was not training to my potential and then going into matches not feeling 100 per cent. It only changed at the back end of last season when I was at Eastleigh and started playing 90 minute games every week.

‘It was an eccentric strength issue in my hamstrings, they were pretty weak so we did a lot of strengthening work, a lot of flexibility work, and I’m still doing that now.

‘Over the years maybe there was an imbalance there and it was quite hard to pinpoint because it was a recurring issue.

'Trying to find the problem was tough and frustrating because it had been lasting quite a while. It has taken time and a lot of hard work, but hopefully they are okay now. At the moment I feel as good as ever.’

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