Portsmouth starlet Luke Brooke-Smith faces surgery after suffering a serious ankle injury in training that threatens to end his season.
The 18-year-old winger, who arrived at Fratton Park in the summer from Wellington Phoenix, dislocated his ankle in what has been described as a freak incident at the club’s training ground.
Pompey head coach John Mousinho confirmed the severity of the damage, outlining the scale of the setback for one of the club’s most exciting young prospects.
"It's a really unfortunate one, he's suffered a severe ankle dislocation," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent. "Off the back of that, there is a fracture on his fibula and significant ligament damage."
Medical staff reacted quickly on site before Brooke-Smith was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital.
"It was dealt with really well by everyone at the training ground and he was taken to QA [Queen Alexandra Hospital] before being discharged. We're going to leave it to settle for a couple of days, but he will go in for surgery after that," Mousinho added.
For a teenager still feeling his way into English football, the timing is brutal. Brooke-Smith has featured four times for Portsmouth this season, starting once in the Championship and making three further appearances from the bench. Each outing hinted at why the club moved to secure him on a permanent deal from New Zealand.
Now his momentum has been stopped cold.
The player himself broke his silence on Instagram, his message raw and honest.
"No words with how I'm feeling right now," he wrote. "A freak incident in training causing me to dislocate my ankle, break fibula and potential ligament damage.
"As I don't know the severity yet I'm trying my best to stay positive in a really hard time for me. I will work my hardest to get back out on the pitch to play for this amazing club.
"Thank you to all the staff and players for getting around me."
The road back will be long and unforgiving, especially for a youngster adapting to the demands of Championship football. But Portsmouth have invested in Brooke-Smith for the long term, and his determination to return, even in the immediate aftermath of such a blow, offers a clear glimpse of the mentality that brought him to England in the first place.
His season may be in jeopardy. His ambitions at Fratton Park are not.
