Danny Cowley was ready to make a quick trip to the hospital once his media duties had been completed.
He had just watched his Pompey side deliver a dominant performance in a 3-1 victory over Bristol Rovers at Fratton Park.
That was overshadowed, however, by a dreadful incident in the first half, with Louis Thompson stretchered off the pitch after being caught by a late Glenn Whelan challenge.
The punishment was a yellow card, but Cowley did not want to discuss whether that was too lenient and is more concerned with the wellbeing of his midfielder.
The Blues boss said: “It looks like he’s got a bad injury from what was a really nasty tackle and we want to send him all our love and best wishes.
“I don’t want to talk about what should have happened in that moment because I want all the focus to be on Louis.
“I’d much rather put all of my energy into hoping and praying that his injury isn’t as bad as I fear it could be.
“I said at the break that we wanted to try to win the game for him and I’m pleased we were able to do that.
“He’s a very important person and player for this football club, but we know that he’s in very good hands.
"I said at the break that we wanted to try to win the game for him and I’m pleased we were able to do that."
“I thought the medical team did a great job and I’ll be going straight to the hospital to find out some more.”
Pompey were in charge of the match for long periods and Connor Ogilvie headed them into a deserved interval lead.
Aaron Collins levelled, but Joe Pigott came off the bench to restore the advantage from the spot and Rovers had their own penalty appeals turned down before Owen Dale wrapped things up.
Cowley said: “It was a good performance and we had control in the game, getting in the right areas and just lacking the final bit of quality.
“We were in the ascendency after the break, but Bristol Rovers didn’t give in and we conceded a poor goal from pretty much their first entry into our box.
“Suddenly you think ‘wow’ because it’s 1-1 and so I was pleased with the emotional control shown by the players – and the crowd had a massive part in that.
“Our finishers came off the bench, with Joe, Reeco Hackett and Dane Scarlett all playing a big role in ultimately getting us the win.
“Joe could easily have sulked, but stayed professional and when the team needed him, he was there. That’s what a good squad does.
“I didn’t have a clear view of the two penalty incidents and my initial thought was that neither should have been given.”