David Artell says that the news that Tom Lowery successfully came through 45 minutes for the club’s Under-23s against Birmingham City on Tuesday afternoon is a ‘major positive.’

Lowery played the first half of our 5-4 victory and came through unscathed after recently struggling with a hernia injury.

The diminutive midfielder scored 5 goals last season before suffering the injury in late January.

Artell told the club’s official website: “Tom played 45 minutes for the 23s and that is a real positive for us.

“He also joined in with full training yesterday and it was an intense session, it wasn’t easy. He has come through fine.

“He is still way off but not that far off and we are not pushing him too hard. We have to take our time with him but having him back playing is a major positive and a step in the right direction.”