LuaLua on road to recovery
Lomana LuaLua has returned to training after his bout of malaria but will not be rushed back to action to help kick-start Portsmouth’s season.
The 24-year-old has not played in the Barclays Premiership since September 17 and Pompey have since dropped down the table and are a place above the relegation zone.
LuaLua remains their top scorer with just two goals but will not compete for a first-team place until he is confident with his fitness.
“I’m going to take my time and make sure when I come back that I’m fully fit,” he said. “I’m starting with some light jogging and I’ll see how it goes. I don’t want to rush anything.
“I saw the specialist at the weekend and he gave me the go-ahead to start light training which I’m happy about because I’m bored sitting at home. My blood levels are getting to be where they need to be and my liver condition is improving.”
Pompey boss Alain Perrin could have LuaLua back against Liverpool at Anfield on November 19, but is also wary of rushing the player.
“He has a lot of strength to build up and we cannot expect a quick return,” Perrin said.
Meanwhile, Perrin is unsure why fans jeered midfielder Laurent Robert when he was substituted by Svetoslav Todorov five minutes from the end of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat by Charlton at Fratton Park.
“You will have to ask them, “ he told the Portsmouth Evening News. “I heard the boos but I wasn’t sure whether that was because they thought he had a bad game or that he shouldn’t be taken off.”
Robert denied a rift with Perrin at Middlesbrough last week when he was taken off after less than an hour of the 1-1 draw and replaced by fellow Frenchman Gregory Vignal.
Robert added: “I’ve not come here just to stay up but to finish in the top 10.
“Alain does good work during the week and gives confidence to the players - but the problem is not with him it is with the players. It is down to the players who play.
“The manager told us to be compact and disciplined when we led at half-time against Charlton, but there was no discipline. We were ahead but then in the second half we panicked. There was pressure and I don’t know why.
“It is very difficult now. We have got to win our next two games against Sunderland and Wigan before we face Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United. We need to play our football, not let the other side do it. The game is in your hands. You need to attack.”
