Still hope for injured Hiwula in play-offs

JORDY HIWULA has been ruled out of Pompey’s League One season.

Although the striker could yet make the play-offs, should qualification be achieved.

The former Coventry man has been sidelined with an ankle injury following his outing against Ipswich.

That represented Hiwula’s maiden League One start for Pompey – and, ultimately, has comeatacosttotheplayer.

Ellis Harrison is already missing the rest of the campaign through a knee injury.

Yet in the case of Hiwula, Cowley is optimistic he could still feature should the Blues make the League One play-offs.

He told The News: ‘With regards to Jordy, he has just come out of the boot on Monday and we’ll probably accelerate the process, that’s the aim.

‘We love our medical team to be proactive rather than reactive, so are working towards a team that can understand how the player moves and what injuries they might be susceptible to because of the biomechanics.

‘We might have to extend the season for him (Hiwula).

‘I think he can come back – and then when he does can make an impact.

Meanwhile, Harrison has undergone a successful knee operation, and Cowley is keen to keep the striker around his dressing room to serve as Pompey’s ‘cheerleader’.

Pompey’s head coach added: ‘Ellis had an operation on Thursday (March 27), that was successful, he has been back at the training ground this week, in and around the group.

‘Although Ellis can’t have an impact now on the pitch, I still think he can have one off it.

‘He’s a big character, you always feel his presence when he’s in the building and it’s great for the players to be able to feed off his energy, so he’s going to be our cheerleader.