Portsmouth’s injury problems have shown no sign of letting up after a torrid couple of weeks at Fratton Park.
John Mousinho has had to contend with several first-team players on the sidelines, many for the campaign’s duration.
Mercurial midfielder Alex Robertson is out for the season with a hamstring tear, first-choice defender Regan Poole has ACL damage, Joe Morrell injured his knee during the 2-2 draw against Oxford, and Terry Devlin suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the same game.
Furthermore, January signing Tom McIntyre damaged his ankle during his debut against Northampton Town and is also out of season.
It’s fair to say Mousinho’s luck is non-existent, and things could be about to get worse.
Tom Lowery the latest Portsmouth injury blow
Pompey maintained their six-point lead at the top of League One with a 3-1 win over Cambridge United on Tuesday evening (13 February).
Mousinho’s men had to come from behind again after Danny Andrew’s first-half header gave the U’s the lead at Fratton Park.
However, a Kusini Yengi penalty levelled things up on the stroke of half-time.
Myles Peart-Harris and an Abu Kamara stunner secured the points for the Blues, who sit six clear of Derby County in second place.
Despite the positive result, Lowery pulled up in the first half and was replaced by January signing Owen Moxon.
Speaking after the game, Mousinho hopes the midfielder’s issue is minor.
“We thought Tom would be ready to play, obviously that’s my decision and something I take responsibility for,” Mousinho told The Portsmouth News.
“I think it’s a bit more than tightness and hopefully a lot less than we have seen with Alex and Tino.”
He added: “He has tweaked it but it’s not too severe, hopefully we’ll see him back relatively soon. He will have a scan on Wednesday then we’ll get the results.
“We have seen the footage, and he does pull up, but I don’t think it’s too severe.”
Losing Lowery would leave Pompey with just two fit central midfielders, with Moxon set to partner Marlon Pack for the remainder of the campaign.
After a busy January window, delving into the free agent market seems unlikely. All eyes are on Moxon to adequately replace Lowery in the middle of the park.
As for the former Crewe man, this injury is just the latest in many issues that have plagued his Fratton Park career.
One piece of good news for Pompey is the return of Zak Swanson, with the former Arsenal man set to be in contention for the weekend home clash against Reading.