John Mousinho revealed Colby Bishop’s dramatic return to action after heart surgery to score in Portsmouth 3-1 victory over Preston was kept top-secret.
Bishop missed the opening 14 matches of the season after a summer heart scan revealed a risk and he underwent open-heart surgery.
Pompey’s leading scorer in their League One title campaign was not named in Pompey’s initial 25-man squad for the Championship season, with a January return mooted, but after Ibane Bowat suffered a season-ending injury they could register an extra player.
And after three tests and a sign-off from a specialist this week, Bishop returned to the bench before jumping on to secure Pompey’s first home win of the season with a penalty.
“It is something we have been keeping under wraps,” said Mousinho. “There was every chance he wouldn’t have been available or it could have been another six weeks.
“It gave us a really nice boost, we didn’t think he would be available until January.
“It is a bit of luck for us but the whole thing is a testament to how quickly Colby has come back from his surgery – we have seen other instances in professional sport where people haven’t come back as quickly.
“The most important thing with Colby was if he could get a goal then great but it was more important he led the line well.
“When we got the penalty it was a huge swathe of release that swept across the stadium when he scored.”
Pompey had been in cruise control after Josh Murphy had blasted in a 30-yard piledriver for his second goal in three matches.
Connor Ogilvie then tapped in at the back post after a defensive mix-up at a corner but Emil Riis made Fratton Park nervous by pulling one back just after half-time.
Bishop made sure of the three points, which dragged Portsmouth off the bottom of the Championship, from the spot after Callum Lang had been dragged down.
It ended a seven-match winless run at home for Pompey, while extending Preston’s away-day blues to 12 matches since their last win in March.
Mousinho added: “We knew we needed a result after everything that has happened this season. That was first and foremost, but a close second was the performance.
“The first goal lifted the pressure a bit and then it was a very well deserved lead at half-time.
“It was really important to hold on. The lads might have thought ‘here we go again, we’ve played well again now we are under the cosh’, but I was really happy with the second part of the second half and the third goal was a massive relief.”
Preston failed to muster a shot in the first half and manager Paul Heckingbottom said: “First half we were totally bullied.
“It was surprising and it was unacceptable. We looked like rabbits in the headlights in the first half, it was totally one-sided.
“We didn’t have the mentality. You saw the reaction in the second half after we shouted at them and made three changes.
“Yes, we also changed shape slightly, but we were bullied because we were out-run, we were out-fought and out-competed.
“I think that first half probably explains to me a bit more of why it’s been eight months (without an away win). Although in our time here, we should have already won away from home.”
