Danny Cowley is unsure whether Shaun Williams will make his competitive Pompey debut at Millwall.
The midfielder was named in the side to play Fleetwood on Saturday, but withdrawn before kick-off with a stiff back.
And with the opening Fratton fixture of the season against Crewe coming up, Cowley is weighing up whether to hand him a Carabao Cup start.
The Blues boss said: “We’re always hopefully and he’s certainly made good progress from the weekend.
"There’s a decision to make because we’ve got a very important league game on Saturday and a small squad at the moment."
“He’s obviously very keen to appear against his former club, but there is a bigger picture for us to look at.
“There’s a decision to make because we’ve got a very important league game on Saturday and a small squad at the moment.
“We’re pretty clear at the moment. Haji Mnoga has been training with us for four days and Ellis just had his first session back with the group.”
Defender Paul Downing has also returned to training with the rest of the Blues squad and is nearing a return to full fitness, while Jayden Reid (knee) and Liam Vincent (shin) remain out.