Portsmouth boss weighs up turning to midfielder to provide missing creative spark as season slumps

John Mousinho is weighing up handing Tom Lowery his first Pompey start in nearly six months at Fleetwood.

The Blues boss is mulling over turning to the midfielder to fill the creative void created by Alex Robertson’s season-ending injury.

But Mousinho knows he has to guard against asking too much too soon from the classy operator, as he builds his own return to fitness.

Lowery got his first minutes under his belt since the start of August, with a strong second-half showing against Leyton Orient on Saturday.

The 26-year-old underwent knee surgery and then had recent calf issues, after well-documented fitness difficulties last term.

And Mousinho knows that has to be considered when thinking about playing time at Highbury Stadium on Saturday.

He said: ‘Tom’s as close as he’s ready to start as possible. Whether that’s the right thing to do or not this weekend, I don’t know.

‘We have to take into account Tom has been out so long and when he’s come back before he’s had setbacks and we don’t want him that happen again.

‘There’s a real temptation to start Tom last week, but we didn’t think it was the right thing to do and 45 minutes was brilliant to get into his legs - especially considering how he played.

‘With another week’s training under his belt it’s a good position to be in.

‘He’s a player we would’ve liked to play in the game against Aldershot, but we couldn’t get him on the pitch. Sometimes training can be as intensive if not more than those games, though, so it’s one we’ll monitor with Tom.’

Mousinho stated last week he felt Lowery could potentially take on similar duties to Robertson, who had such a big impact at Pompey this season.

Many fans thought that was a big ask, but maybe the notion doesn’t seem such an outrageous prospect after what the Crewe signing brought to the table in the second half last weekend.

Mousinho added: Tom was by far our brightest spark at the weekend and made a difference. We didn’t score but it wasn’t for lack of Tom Lowery’s participation in the game, he was excellent and set up a couple of chances.

‘He has the ability to do what Alex did by playing in those two positions and affecting the game positively.

‘One thing I spoke to Robbo about towards the end of his time here was goals and assists - and adding that to how well he controls games. Tom can do that as well and he’s a capable and worthy addition to the squad. That’s why we value having him around and when he’s fit he’s played a lot of games.’