BIRTHDAY boy Jason Demetriou insists he will be raring to go at Portsmouth tomorrow - despite a lack of rest.

For while Demetriou’s Shrimpers team-mates have gone 11 days without a fixture, the right-back lined up for Cyprus in international friendlies against both Georgie and Armenia.

But Demetriou - who turns 30 tomorrow - cannot wait to return to domestic action at Fratton Park.

“Playing the games keeps the fitness ticking over and I feel good despite the travelling,” said Demetriou.

“I flew out to Cyprus and we do charter flights so it wasn’t too bad even though the flight home was a bit of a nightmare and took eight hours in total.

“There was no direct flight but I’ve rested since then and I’ve fully recovered so I’m fine for Saturday and it’s a game we’re all looking forward to.”

Demetriou’s Cyprus side were beaten 1-0 in Georgia last Friday before they were seen off 3-2 in Armenia on Monday.

But the right-back still enjoyed the experience.

“It’s always an honour to play for Cyprus and we had two friendlies the coach chose because they would be difficult,” said Demetriou, who turned down Portsmouth to join Blues in the summer of 2016.

“We seem to be doing well at home but we struggle away so he picked two good tests for us and unfortunately the games didn’t go our way.”

However, Demetriou returned to training with Blues yesterday morning and now has his sights set on helping Phil Brown’s side pick up a good result at Portsmouth.

“We’re on a good run at the moment and apart from the Yeovil result in the FA Cup we’re doing alright so we want to keep it going,” said Demetriou.

“Portsmouth are a big club and I’m sure there will be a good atmosphere.

“We have a lot of fans going too so it will be the type of game all the boys want to play in but it will be a big test for us.”

Blues have midfielder Anthony Wordsworth available again after he recovered from a slight calf problem which forced him to miss the Checkatrade Trophy clash with Colchester United.

However, goalkeeper Ted Smith has been forced back onto the sidelines with another shoulder problem which is expected to keep the shot-stopper out for around another fortnight.

As a result, Nathan Bishop will again continue as back-up to Mark Oxley.

Ben Coker (broken leg), Rob Kiernan (knee) and Harry Kyprianou (thigh) are also still unavailable for the Shrimpers.