Boss pleased to have influential midfielder back in the picture.

Understandably, David Artell did not reveal if Tom Lowery would start his first league game of the season against MK Dons this weekend, but he stresses that the return of the talented midfielder was a welcome boost to everyone at the club.

Lowery returned to the first-team scene with a goal against Wycombe Wanderers last Saturday after replacing captain Luke Murphy as a second half substitute.

His only other involvement this season came against Shrewsbury Town in a Papa John’s Trophy tie.

The club remain hopeful that he will elect to extend his stay with the club beyond his current deal, but Artell has informed us that nothing new has occurred in any talks.

On Tom, Artell said: “Tom is a good player. I’ve said that all along. You can use all the adjectives you want and talk about the balance of the midfield, effectiveness, thrust or whatever you want to describe it – but the bottom line is he is a good footballer, we all know that, and he can improve us.

“That is the important thing and we will see where it takes us going forward.”