'Franco is a bit more concerning' - Umeh suffers hamstring injury in loss to Arsenal

FRANCO BLOW: Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly and Portsmouth's Franco Umeh-Chibueze battle for the ball. Andrew Matthews/PA Wire.

A dream afternoon for Cork native Franco Umeh soon turned into a nightmare.

The former Ringmahon Rangers and Cork City star was introduced in the 40th minute of Portsmouth’s 4-1 loss to Premier League leaders Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday after his teammate Harvey Blair suffered a knock.

But unfortunately for the 20-year-old, who joined Pompey from Crystal Palace on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee in September, he was also forced to withdraw prematurely after suffering a hamstring injury in the closing stages at Fratton Park.

“Harvey felt his hip flexor, we are going to assess it, I don't think it’s serious, but Franco has felt his hamstring, which is a bit of an understatement,” Portsmouth manager John Mousinho told the News.

“Franco is a bit more concerning; we will see how that settles down. I’m not sure if it’s the same hamstring he has just recovered from.

‘If we had been standing here talking about the game without the injuries, there are a lot of positives to take from it.

“However, the two negatives really would be the way we defended set-plays and the two injuries.”

The severity of the Republic of Ireland underage international’s injury will be assessed by the Blues medical team over the next few days.