Portsmouth receive double injury boost as they eye unleashing serial promotion winner on Peterborough

John Mousinho is ready to unleash a triple League One promotion-winner to drive Pompey past the finishing post.

And the Blues’ central midfield options have been further boosted by Ben Stevenson’s training comeback and Tom Lowery now a few weeks away from a return.

Following medial ligament reconstruction on his right knee in October, Lee Evans was back in a squad for the first time on Tuesday night.

Although an unused substitute in the Blues' 2-1 victory over Burton, Mousinho is adamant the recent recruit is now under consideration for first-team duty.

It’s a timely reappearance considering the importance of Saturday’s trip to Peterborough - and, encouragingly, others are also nearing returns.

Mousinho told The News: ‘It was really good to have Lee involved in the squad.

‘We didn’t necessarily think it was the right thing to bring him on, but it’s a good step in the right direction. He has been training with us and building up from his injury rehab over the past however many months it has been.

‘Getting himself into the squad is the next step and hopefully we’ll see him featuring soon.

‘We wouldn’t have named him a substitute if we didn’t think he was ready, we can’t afford to carry players on the bench, we knew it was a really good option to have. Minutes-wise, it would have been a consideration.

‘If we had picked up an injury after 10 minutes I don’t think it would have been the right call at that point, but certainly we thought about him during the game.

‘Lee was on the bench and then trained again Wednesday, so Peterborough is certainly an option.

‘Considering he has been out for such a long time, he has been very, very good in training. We’re really pleased to have a player of that quality coming into the building at this stage of the season.’

Meanwhile, Stevenson this week returned to full training for the first time since sustaining knee ligament damage in early January.

While Lowery, who tore his hamstring against Cambridge United a month ago, is also closing in on a comeback.

Mousinho added: ‘Ben Stevenson trained fully on Wednesday, which is another step in the right direction. We think Saturday would be too soon for him.

‘With Lowery a couple of weeks away, it now looks a bit healthier in the middle of the park. We’ve obviously been a bit thin there, yet carried it really well.

‘We also saw glimpses of Owen against Burton, where he did some brilliant things. I think he’s growing into that role really well.’