Portsmouth head coach Danny Cowley has revealed that while Tom Lowery will not feature for the club in their EFL Trophy clash with Aston Villa's Under-21 side tomorrow, the midfielder is expected to be available for selection this weekend.

Pompey will make their return to league action on Saturday as they are scheduled to host Fleetwood Town at Fratton Park.

Lowery missed Portsmouth's meeting with Ipswich Town last weekend after sustaining a hamstring injury during the club's 2-2 draw with Plymouth Argyle in September.

In the absence of the midfielder, Pompey suffered their first league defeat of the season at the hands of Kieran McKenna's side.

Former Portsmouth man Marcus Harness opened the scoring for Ipswich in the 25th minute before Colby Bishop levelled proceedings.

Following the break, Ipswich regained the lead via an effort from Freddie Ladapo.

Bishop then netted his second goal of the game before Wes Burns headed home from Kyle Edwards' cross to secure all three points for Ipswich.

Ahead of his side's latest EFL Trophy clash, Cowley has issued an injury update on Lowery.

Speaking to The News about the midfielder, the Pompey boss said: "We are hopeful of having Tom back for Saturday, but won’t risk him on Tuesday.

‘It was never a bad hamstring tear, only grade one, which is a low level one, so we were hopeful for Ipswich, but now it won’t be much longer. The Verdict This is a sensible approach to take regarding Lowery as there is no need to risk him in an EFL Trophy clash when Portsmouth's priority this season is to achieve a great deal of success in League One. By giving the midfielder some more time to prepare for the weekend, there is a chance that Lowery could make his return to the club's starting eleven at Fratton Park. In the seven league games that he has featured in for Portsmouth, the 24-year-old has managed to develop an understanding with Marlon Pack in the heart of midfield.

Providing that Lowery is able to maintain his fitness over the course of the coming months, he could potentially go on to play a key role for Portsmouth as the club look to launch a push for promotion.