Let’s start the weekend off with some gloomy injury news. It’s unlikely, but just in case you were thinking of looking towards Portsmouth for fantasy investment you should know that Tony Adams has revealed that he has lost the services of Niko Kranjcar for “quite a while”….

The Croatian midfielder has been ruled out of Pompey’s FA Cup tie with a torn groin muscle, presumably sustained in training and according to Adams “It looks a bad one”. According to our friends at physioroom we can expect a 4-6 week absence for a grade two groin strain; if he’s ruptured the muscle he could be out for up to three months.

Kranjcar’s absence would seem to protect Traore’s starting role in the side. The loanee from Arsenal has been playing as the left midfielder in a 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation of late, with Kranjcar in a deeper central midfield role. With the Croatian sidelined, even if Adams was to revert to 4-4-2, you’d fancy Traore to get starts. That may make him a decent bench proposition if you fancy a risky differential.