Landmark moment for Portsmouth favourite as path ahead for ‘outstanding’ talent’s detailed
And John Mousinho has now outlined how he will continue on the road to full fitness, after lauding his ‘outstanding’ midfielder.
The popular figure this week moved outside for the first time, as he continued his recovery from the knee injury picked up against Bristol Rovers at the start of last month.
Lowery has been slated for a three-month absence, after initial fears he faced five months out following surgery on his meniscus.
The 25-year-old is progressing promisingly, however, with Mousinho reporting positive news.
He said: ‘Tom is a popular character in the dressing and a nice, young man.
‘I thought he was outstanding pre-season and fully deserved his place on the opening day – where I thought he was probably our best performer in the first half against Bristol Rovers.
‘It’s been a tough one for him to come out for the best part of six to eight weeks, but he’s back out on the grass.
‘It’s another step along the way for him and he has to keep going, keep progressing and keep making strides in the gym.
‘Hopefully he’s out in his boots soon and then we see him changing direction and do all the things he needs to do.
‘We’re really pleased for Tom.
‘When you’re in the lonely confines of the dressing room for so long it’s nice to have those wins.’
Lowery’s injury issues since arriving at Pompey have been well documented, with his maiden campaign hindered by an unusual hamstring issue.
He came back well at the end of last term, however, making 21 appearances before the latest unrelated setback.
Mousinho feels, like with one or two other injuries at present, Pompey have to be careful with managing Lowery’s return.
He added: ‘We’re wary with one or two of the injuries of that.
‘We could have had Christian (Saydee) on the bench against Derby, but I didn’t think it was the right thing to do.
‘The physio advice we get is top class and we want to make sure we get things right.
‘It’s the same with Tom. There’s a fine balance between holding him back too much and being overly cautious, to make sure they don’t break down when they come back.
‘There’s some things you can’t protect against, though.
‘In Tom’s instance we were very wary at the back end of last year about bringing him back and reintroduced him slowly.
‘He was then fit for the entirety of the back end of last season, with the exception of one game.
‘So we’re very wary of doing it properly for all players.’
Mousinho: Wins More Important Than Unbeaten Record
Boss looks ahead to Wigan test
Pompey will be looking to stretch their unbeaten run to an impressive 21 games when they visit Wigan this weekend.
But that is not a motivating factor for John Mousinho, who has overseen the entirety of that sequence, which began back in mid-March.
He would happily sacrifice the statistic if it instead meant there had been a few more victories to celebrate.
And with Pompey having won three of their past four fixtures, Mousinho is happy with the direction is table-topping side are travelling.
The Blues boss said: “It doesn’t count for anything yet, but it is a reflection of our first nine games and we’ve been pretty good in that time.
“There’s plenty of work to do and we have to make sure that we don’t get carried away with the table at the moment.
“The only time that will change is when we get into May and although it’s a nice position to be in, we have to keep going.
“We’ll soon be a quarter of the way through the season and that will be a nice signpost, but it’s still early.
“The nice thing is that we’re starting to turn some of those draws into wins and that’s more important than the unbeaten run.
“Wigan are a strong team and we know they’re in a false position because of the points that have been deducted.
“The nice thing is that we’re starting to turn some of those draws into wins and that’s more important than the unbeaten run.”
“There is a good squad full of League One and Championship-level footballers, so we expect a tough test.”
Pompey are set to be without summer signing Anthony Scully for an extended period after the winger injured his knee.
Mousinho said: “It’s a tear in the meniscus and he’ll have to undergo surgery for that, which is booked in for next week.
“We tried an injection to settle the knee down and unfortunately it hasn’t worked, so he’ll be out for a longer period.
“It’s a difficult one for him – and us – to take, but hopefully we’ll see him back as soon as possible and it will feel like a new signing.
“Christian Saydee has been training with us for the past few days and is available for selection, while Kusini Yengi is progressing nicely.
“Tom Lowery has been back out on the grass for the first time and that’s the next step of his rehab, which is nice to see.”
Mousinho also explained the reasons why right-back Zak Swanson had been absent for the past two games.
He said: “Zak’s mother very sadly passed away last week and it was a tremendously difficult time for him and his family.
“He played at Derby knowing that the news was just days away and produced what was probably a man-of-the-match performance.
“I wasn’t aware of that at the time, so all credit to him. He’s conducted himself brilliantly and everyone has rallied around.”
