'It's pretty good news': Portsmouth boss provides update on Tom Lowery hamstring injury

Tom Lowery is expected to miss the next four-and-a-half weeks of Pompey's season.

Blues boss John Mousinho confirmed on Saturday that the midfielder is not expected back until the end of March, after suffering a hamstring injury in the first half of the February 13 win against Cambridge United at Fratton Park.

The 26-year-old pulled up wth the problem in the 36th minute against the U's having started six successive games for Pompey. He was also involved in seven consecutive Blues matches having only returned from a five-month injury lay-off because of knee surgery in January.

Lowery subsequently had to go an see a specialist to determine the severity of his latest blow. And providing the latest on the midfielder's injury following this weekend's goalless draw with Charlton, Mousinho was upbeat with the news he received.

Speaking to BBC Solent, the Blues head coach said: 'It's pretty good news, I think. So it's not a T-junction injury, which is the tecnical term and which kept him out last season. So we're looking at about six weeks from the time of injury.

'It's something we're obviously going to have to be cautious with when we do have that return to training and return to games with Tom - but I think there was an initial fear when we had to go and see the specialist about, not about the severity of the tear, but the location of the tear that it might be a bit longer. It's never nice when we have players injured - but that was a pretty good result, I though.

'We will be cautious with Tom because of what's happened in the past - but I think it's good news that we'll have him back before the end of the season.'

Lowery's lay-off means he could miss up to five more games of Pompey's promotion push, having also sat out the most recent Reading and Charlton games. Those five games are the fixtures against Oxford, Blackpool, Burton Peterborough and Barnsley. Pompey travel to Wycombe on Good Friday (March 29), before entertaining Derby at Fratton Park on Easter Monday (April 1). It remains to be seen if Lowery will feature in either game as the Blues take a careful approach to his recovery.

The Blues had 11 first-team players - including Lowery - absent from their trip to Charlton, with Regan Poole, Alex Robertson, Joe Morrell, Terry Devlin and Tom McIntrye all ruled out for the rest of the season.