Season over for Pompey's Kranjcar

27 April 2009 16:00
Portsmouth's survival hopes have suffered a blow after Niko Kranjcar was ruled out for the rest of the season due to an ankle injury.Kranjcar picked up the injury in the 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers over a week ago and missed the 2-0 defeat at Manchester United last Wednesday.The Premier League strugglers were hoping that the Croatian would be able to return to Paul Hart's plans before the end of the campaign.However, further scans have shown bone-related damage, meaning Kranjcar will not be fit enough to play in the club's final five matches.Pompey physio Gary Sadler told the club's official website: "Niko went for a CT scan to investigate the possibility of bone-related damage. That scan revealed that Niko had pulled a little bit of bone away in the back of his ankle."Unfortunately, this type of injury means there is not enough time left before the end of the season for Niko to heal, be rehabilitated, return to training and play."But if everything goes according to plan and there are no setbacks, then Niko should be fine to resume training with the rest of the team when they report back for pre-season training after the break."Kranjcar has scored four goals in 25 appearances for Pompey, but is now sidelined for a crucial part of the season, with the club six points outside the relegation zone.Hart takes his troops to relegation-threatened Newcastle on Monday night before Pompey meet Arsenal, Blackburn, Sunderland and Wigan.[LNB]

Source: Eurosport