Roy Hodgson has recalled George Thorne back to West Bromwich Albion due to an injury crisis which sees a lack of midfielders currently available for the Baggies.
The 18-year-old returns to The Hawthorns having made a good impression during his short stay at Pompey. His loan spell was due to end on January 2nd but now Michael Appleton will have to make do without one of his key players for the trips to Millwall and Leicester before the year is out.
Pompey hope to bring him back in the future and I certainly hope they do because he was by far our most impressive midfielder during our recent unbeaten run and replacing him with someone in our current squad will be impossible.
If Appleton is to stick with the system he has been utilising since the arrival of Thorne then the closest he has to a defensive midfielder to fill Thorne's boots is Aaron Mokoena. Not good.
So, we may see a change of formation when Pompey visit The Den on Boxing Day.