Portsmouth v Exeter City injury news as three ruled out and one doubt

Portsmouth will have Paddy Lane to call upon against Exeter City tonight, but will have to do without Tom Lowery.

Lane has been out for the last three weeks with a foot injury which was sustained in a pre-season friendly with AFC Wimbledon. He could be named amongst the substitutes ahead of tonight's televised clash with the Grecians. The 22-year-old is a welcomed boost to John Mousinho, who was expecting Lane to be out longer than anticipated, but came through unscathed having trained fin towards the end of last week, and on Monday and is now in contention to feature.

One player who's absence is confirmed however is Tom Lowery, who missed Pompey's Carabao Cup win against Forest Green Rovers, and the 4-0 victory against Leyton Orient last Saturday. The 25-year-old was forced off at half-time in the opening fixture of the season against Bristol Rovers, and is now seeking specialist advice. The severity of Lowery's injury has not yet been disclosed as they await further information, but Mousinho describes things as 'positive' going into the match at Fratton Park tonight. Josh Dockerill is Portsmouth's only long-term injury having suffered a long-term anterior cruciate ligament injury in pre-season.

Meanwhile for Exeter City, Kyle Taylor has recovered from being on the sidelines for 16-months after rupturing his ACL, damaged his cartilage and medial ligament, as well as suffering damage to the bone in what was described as 'the worst injury a footballer can get'. The 23-year-old has since been involved in all three of Exeter's matches, coming on as a substitute. He is unlikely to start for Exeter, but Gary Caldwell might continue to ease him back into things.

Exeter though will be without first-team player Harry Kite and academy graduate Gabe Billington for tonight's match. Kite suffered a knee injury in pre-season against Weston-super-Mare which has stopped him from making an appearance so far this season.

Billington has made two appearances for Exeter, both in the EFL Trophy and his plans for the season were impacted after suffering an ankle injury from an 'innocuous tackle' against Exmouth Town. The men from Devon have had a busy schedule with four games in the space of 14 days, and Caldwell has admitted he could freshen things up for tonight.