Curtis back to relieve forward headache

RONAN CURTIS will be back to alleviate Pompey’s striker woes.

The 25-year-old has been absent for more than a week on Republic of Ireland duty, albeit enduring a frustrating lack of game time.

However, he was scheduled to return to England straight after last night’s friendly against Qatar in Hungary.

That would enable him to be back at the Blues’ Copnor Road training base for a recovery session this morning.

In turn, he will train with his team-mates on Thursday ahead of the Good Friday visit of struggling Rochdale to Fratton Park.

And that puts him in the frame for an emergency striking role in the absence of John Marquis, Jordy Hiwula and Ellis Harrison against League One’s bottom club.

It is understood no selfisolation is required for Curtis and his Republic of Ireland playing colleagues when coming back into England.

In terms of Pompey, as it stands, 19-year-old Alfie Stanley is the sole centreforward available to Danny Cowley for the next three matches against Rochdale, Wigan and Burton.

However, Curtis, Ryan Williams and Marcus Harness are also viewed as options.

Although the bulk of Curtis’ 132 appearances have arrived on the left wing, on occasions he has operated in a central striking role.

Most recently he served there in the 1-0 defeat at Peterborough, while on his Blues bow, in August 2018, he partnered Brett Pitman in attack against Luton in a 1-0 success.

Pompey’s striking pool is otherwise bare, with Harrison ruled out for the season, Hiwula out for up to six weeks with an ankle injury, and Marquis suspended for three games.