Oliver Hawkins looks like needing to take the strain in Pompey's forward line at Gillingham on Sunday.

In fact it could be a one-man frontline, with both Brett Pitman and Conor Chaplin ruled out of the trip to Priestfield.

Chaplin suffered a recurrence of a hamstring problem in the warm-up before the EFL Trophy clash with Crawley in midweek, while Pitman is facing four weeks on the sidelines after knee injury.

For those worried Hawkins might be needed in defence, there's good news - it looks like Christian Burgess is over a calf injury and will be fit to partner Matt Clarke. Nathan Thompson may be over a head injury.

Kenny Jackett has been explaining how Pitman has been playing through the pain for a fortnight and needed to have surgery. He told The News: ‘Brett’s had a tough week.

‘He had an operation on Monday and was told when he woke up that he was having an operation on Tuesday as well! I am pleased, particularly with the knee situation. Since Fleetwood it hasn’t quite been right and he’s had some discomfort with it.

‘There’s been a piece of floating bone in his knee and at times it has locked and left him limping. For maybe a week to 10 days it hasn’t gone away and it needed to be brought to a head. We had to conclude it.

‘The medical people said it was best them going in, observing and then taking it out, making sure there was no other damage inside. I thought it was the right decision as well. It was some relief for myself when it was actually done because I couldn’t necessarily see it going away.

‘Now it gives Brett a chance to clear up both areas (his nose and knee) and I am pleased it has come to a conclusion. I could only see us carrying on like this for a number of weeks and then it needing doing anyway.

'The estimation is he will be out for anything between two and four weeks, while the medical people are pleased there were no complications or anything unexpected.'

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