Crewe re-sign Portsmouth midfielder Lowery on loan

Tom Lowery's only first-team appearance for Pompey this season was in the EFL Cup in August

Crewe Alexandra have re-signed midfielder Tom Lowery on loan from Championship club Portsmouth for the rest of the season.

Lowery, 27, has made only 31 first-team appearances in two and a half years since being signed by then Pompey boss Danny Cowley in August 2022.

But he now becomes the second Alex old boy to return to Gresty Road in this January window to bolster the League Two promotion chasers, following last week's re-signing of centre-back Connor O'Riordan from Blackburn Rovers.

"I haven't played as much as I wanted over the past couple of seasons," Lowery told BBC Radio Stoke. "But I'm just looking forward now. I'm fit and ready to go. And I can't wait to get started.

"As soon as I heard Crewe were interested, I was desperate to come back. The team are doing well and it's an opportunity to help as much as I can."

Local product Lowery made 175 appearances in his first six seasons at Crewe, scoring 13 goals - but he made just seven League One starts under John Mousinho as Pompey won promotion last term and has not figured at all in the Championship.

Although Walsall lead League Two by 11 points, the battle for the other two automatic promotion places is raging.

Crewe had the chance to halve the gap when Walsall twice lost this week – but instead they picked up just one point out of a possible six from successive home games and have now dropped to fifth, in a cluster of seven teams from second place down separated by just six points.