The Chelsea youngster has made five appearances since joining the Blues on a season-long loan
John Mousinho has applauded Ryan Kavuma-McQueen for ‘putting his body on the line’ after playing on with a double fracture.
The Chelsea loanee broke one of the fingers on his right hand in two places after colliding with an advertising hoarding in last week’s 2-0 defeat to Derby.
Pompey loanee Ryan Kavumba-McQueen is playing with a cast on his right arm after breaking his wrist in two places. Picture: Jason Brownplaceholder image
Pompey loanee Ryan Kavumba-McQueen is playing with a cast on his right arm after breaking his wrist in two places. Picture: Jason Brown | Jason Brown
After seeing a specialist in London on Wednesday, the 17-year-old was offered the chance to undergo surgery to repair the damage.
However, Kavuma-McQueen rejected the suggested treatment amid concerns it would sideline him for too many Pompey games following an outstanding start to his Fratton Park career.
And on Saturday against Cardiff, the winger appeared off the bench in the second half of the 2-0 victory over the Bluebirds, sporting a cast over his problematic right hand, which also contained a splint.
‘I’ve got a lot of time for that’
Mousinho told The News: ‘Fair play to Ryan, we went up to London on Wednesday to get the X-ray and we made the decision there. Between Ryan and his family, there was an option to have surgery and be out for a while - or to manage it conservatively.
‘As a 17-year-old, he decided he wanted to wear the splint and put himself in the front line - and I've got a lot of time for that.
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‘Ryan's in the splint for about four weeks with that proper recovery and I think he stays in it after that, even though we expect the hand to be healed. He will still stay in it for a while just to protect it.
‘This is a young lad on loan who wants to just play games and put his body on the line.’
Five appearances since joining from Chelsea
Kavuma-McQueen had started Pompey’s previous three matches, yet the injury saw him replaced on the left wing against Cardiff by Tyrese Shade.
Ryan Kavuma-McQueen scored on his fully Pompey debut last month in the 3-1 win at Lincoln. Picture: Jason Brownplaceholder image
Ryan Kavuma-McQueen scored on his fully Pompey debut last month in the 3-1 win at Lincoln. Picture: Jason Brown | Jason Brown
Shade, a £1.8m deadline day signing from Burton, subsequently impressed on his Blues debut, supplying the long throw which was headed home by Conor Shaughnessy for the opener on 31 minutes.
Kavuma-McQueen was the natural replacement for the ex-Eastleigh man on 69 minutes and, irrespective of his hand injury, and once again produced a strong display, which included several robust challenges.
He has now made five appearances since joining on a season-long loan from Chelsea, of which three have been starts, including scoring on his full debut at Lincoln last month.
The Blues continue to be without fellow wingers Josh Murphy, Keshi Anderson and Franco Umeh, who have featured just twice between them in the 2025-26 season so far.
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And Kavuma-McQueen is in the frame to face Charlton next weekend as Mousinho’s men aim to build on Saturday’s first Fratton Park win of the season.
Pompey’s head coach added: ‘Saturday was a tough game for Ryan to come on in because of how frantic it was and how Cardiff probably had the ascendancy for the last half hour.
‘We caught them on the break well, but they had a lot of the ball and we had to work hard to make sure we tracked and kept the ball out the back of the net.’
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