(Photo: Portsmouth FC)
By Alex Beard
Portsmouth manager Kenny Jackett has admitted he is unsure whether Nathan Thompson will play against Gillingham on Sunday, describing the player's head injury as ‘not black and white'.
The defender was knocked out by Pompey team-mate Drew Talbot in an aerial collision during the team's defeat to Oldham last weekend.
Football health guidelines state that any player who suffers a concussion is not permitted to play a match for the next seven days following the incident.
But with Pompey's game, which was originally scheduled for this Saturday, being moved to Sunday for Sky Sport's broadcasting reasons, Thompson could conceivably feature.
“We will make a decision on Thompson on Saturday,” Jackett told The Portsmouth News.
“The rules for a head injury are seven days, we are fortunate that the game is eight. However, away from those rules there must be some common sense.
“He will maybe train today and we will see how he feels. We will use our common sense, but are open-minded to him coming back and being okay.
“Obviously if there is any doubt, we won't take a chance. It's similar with Burgess really, we are optimistic over them being around for the next two training days.
“But with Thompson it's not black and white. We are fortunate the doctor handling it saw the injury, he assessed him afterwards and has been in most days this week.
“You can make a medical decision on how the player feels and looks. He has done some fitness work but not actually been football training. He feels pretty good, though. We will leave it open and are hopeful.”
