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.’