Devitt injury boost for Morecambe

The influential attacking midfielder returned ahead of schedule from a torn hamstring as a second-half substitute at Fratton Park.

Devitt had been the Shrimps’ creative force before picking up the serious injury against York at the end of October.

It was initially feared the former Hull youngster would be out until Christmas but he made a far sooner than expected return when he replaced Paul Mullin after 76 minutes.

Shrimps boss Jim Bentley said: “He’s come back earlier than expected.

“He’s looked sharp and we’ve spoken to him every day and he wasn’t feeling any ill affects.

“Do you leave it another week when we’re down to the bare bones?

“He got 15 or 20 minutes at Portsmouth and came through unscathed.

“It’s fantastic because he’s a big player for us.

“We need to keep him fit and at it and hopefully as we get him further up to speed fitness wise he can pick up from where he left off.”

Devitt was set to feature for Morecambe’s reserves in their game at Wigan today, Tuesday.

Andreas Arestidou was also due to make a return from injury in the game.