A groin injury kept him sidelined for the first month of the season.
So Matt Clarke is thrilled to be back in the Blues back-line and helping the club climb the League One table.
After limping off in July’s friendly at Havant & Waterlooville, he returned for the narrow home defeat by Rotherham.
It was a better outcome at AFC Wimbledon on Saturday, however, with Clarke at his most imperious to help Pompey achieve a 1-0 victory.
The defender said: “After a long period out, it’s nice to be back with the rest of the lads and out playing football again.
“There’s nothing more frustrating than when you’re injured and all you want to do is be on the pitch.
"You just have to take it on the chin, work hard and be ready to come back stronger."
“But you just have to take it on the chin, work hard and be ready to come back stronger when you’re fit again.
“It certainly wasn’t a great performance losing in front of the television cameras against Rotherham.
“So it was nice to get the win at Wimbledon on Saturday and it’s always a boost for the defence to keep a clean sheet.
“There weren’t many chances on our goal, so that was particularly satisfying for us as a unit, as well as for the whole team.”
Clarke hopes that Pompey can build on the win when they face Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s Northampton – who won for the first time at the weekend – on Tuesday night.
He said: “They’ve got a new manager in and that can give you a bit of a boost – it obviously did on Saturday.
“But if you pick up a couple of wins at this stage of the season you can quickly move up the table, so hopefully we can get some momentum on our side.”