Luke Brooke-Smith Faces Surgery After Ankle Injury

Portsmouth prospect Luke Brooke-Smith faces surgery after suffering a serious ankle injury in training that is likely to end his season.

The 18-year-old winger, who only 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 setback, outlining the extent of the damage.

“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.

“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.”

For a teenager just beginning to feel his way into Championship football, the timing is brutal. Brooke-Smith has made four appearances for Portsmouth this season, starting once in the league and coming off the bench in his other outings as he tried to carve out a role in Mousinho’s squad.

The New Zealand youth product has already shown flashes of why Pompey moved to bring him in on a permanent deal, offering pace and direct running from wide areas. Now his progress halts abruptly, replaced by the long, lonely grind of rehabilitation.

On Instagram, Brooke-Smith laid bare the emotional impact of the injury.

“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.”

Portsmouth will now plan for the remainder of the campaign without a player they had earmarked for gradual integration, while the teenager’s focus shifts to surgery, recovery and the long route back to the Championship stage he had only just begun to taste.