Gareth Evans is hopeful his injury problems are behind him and he can help the Blues to a strong finish to their League One campaign.

The utility man returned as a substitute in the second half of Sunday's 3-0 home win over Oxford and said he had learned now not to rush back from knocks.

He told the Pompey website: 'I got brought on early in the second half and it was straight in at the deep end. There was drama right from the moment I came on to the pitch and that’s difficult to get your head around, but I enjoyed it.

'Playing in front of a packed house at Fratton Park — what more could you ask for? Getting the win was the icing on the cake. Oxford were starting to get on top and so Joe Gallen took me to one side and just told me to be solid, compact and keep hold of the ball.

'I probably wasn’t quite right when I came back from the injury last time and perhaps I shouldn’t have played. But I’m feeling fully fit now and that’s a big boost. Hopefully I can put it all behind me and concentrate on helping the team.'

Evans will be in the squad when Pompey go to Walsall on Saturday then host Wigan and ex-boss Paul Cook on Easter Monday.

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