'Worst period of my career': From hell to heaven for Portsmouth man after five-month nightmare

Pompey has coincided with the worst injury spell of his career - now Tom Lowery’s back and eyeing regular first-team football.

The former Crewe man has made just 19 league appearances since arriving in August 2022, a frustrating return driven by injury issues.

Saturday’s dismal defeat to Leyton Orient marked a first outing in more than five months after undergoing knee surgery and then having a calf problem.

Lowery was introduced at half-time with the Blues already trailing 3-0 and produced a man-of-the-match display, albeit with his team-mates’ performance bar low.

And following a first outing since the opening 45 minutes of the campaign, the 26-year-old is eyeing remaining injury-free.

He told The News: ‘I enjoyed being back on the pitch, I just wished it was under better circumstances. Our performance wasn’t good enough on Saturday, but it was nice to be back.

‘I did okay, although I thought I could have done better, I could have impacted on the game a bit more.

‘I like to play with a lot of energy, I just wish I could have helped the team more to get back into the game.

‘Still, it’s my first game back in however long, it was just nice to be back out there and I'm gutted about the result and circumstances.

‘They were my first competitive minutes in four-and-a-half months, which is frustrating. It has been really tough being out for such a long time, but hopefully I can now stay fit and help the team going forward.

‘These last two seasons have definitely been my worst for injuries. Before then I’d had a couple of injuries which weren’t too serious, so it has been a really tough spell.

‘So from now until the end of the season, I just want to stay fit and contribute as much as I can to the team, getting as many minutes as possible.’

Lowery has been back in training two weeks following a calf tear.

That was sustained on his comeback from a damaged meniscus in his left knee sustained against Bristol Rovers on the opening day.

He added: ‘It has been really frustrating, but I feel fit and am physically ready to go.

’It’s tough for any player to be injured for so long, but we’ve got a great group of lads here and they’ve kept me going throughout the whole process.

‘And it’s nice to hear the fans sing my name, I thank them for that. It’s now just about staying fit for me.’