‘We’ve missed him’: Brackley Town boss delivers update on attacker Matt Lowe amid mystery absence
Manager Gareth Dean has revealed Brackley Town forward Matt Lowe has been struggling with chronic fatigue.
Lowe has played only five of the Saints’ 12 National League North fixtures so far this season, while his last appearance altogether came on September 19, against AFC Portchester in the FA Cup.
Despite an uptick in form with two recent league wins lifting Brackley out of the relegation zone, Lowe’s presence has certainly been missed.
The Saints stalwart has racked up 335 competitive career appearances and 46 goals for the club since first arriving in 2015, with a brief spell at Accrington Stanley in between.
“Lowey is still away, but just an update on him: he’s been suffering for a while from chronic fatigue,” Dean revealed after last Saturday’s 3-2 defeat away at Hednesford Town.
“He’s not injured, but he’s been advised by medical professionals to try and find the root cause for that. So, he’s been undertaking MRI scans and blood tests.
“We’re hoping to have him reintegrated into the group in the next 10 days to two weeks. The positive with him is it doesn’t look like there are any underlying health concerns.
“He’s back on track, which is really positive. I can’t wait to have him back, we’ve missed him.”
Lowe’s return should act as a huge boost for Brackley, with the powerful 30-year-old capable of playing as a centre-forward or off the right flank.
But, even despite bringing in four new signings in the past fortnight, Dean would still like to add another new face at some stage if the right opportunity arises.
Dean said: “The group is strengthening and that’s what we wanted. You look at the group now and we’ve got like-for-like quality in every single position.
“If there’s room for one more, then we’ll still look for that, but we need to be patient and bring the right people who will kick us on moving forward.”
Back to Lowe, and the Saints will be without him for the next two games at home to Radcliffe (October 24) and away at Spalding United (October 27).
But there’s a chance Lowe could make his long-awaited return on the road at Worksop Town on Saturday, October 31.