Tom Lowery had just 30 minutes of football under his belt since the middle of September.
A couple of hamstring injuries meant that a promising start to his Pompey career was quickly curtailed.
So it was a welcome sight when the diminutive midfielder took to the pitch as a second half substitute at Cambridge.
He immediately looked right back at home in the centre of the pitch, helping the Blues secure a 1-0 victory.
Lowery said: “It’s been a long and frustrating few months, so it’s great to be back. The reaction from the fans was brilliant and the tune is stuck in my head!
“The original injury was worse then first thought and when I came back, it just went again. It was the same thing.
"It’s been a long and frustrating few months, so it’s great to be back."
“These things happen and it was a long way from that to being available again. It was a niggly problem, but you just have to get on with it and I had a few injections to speed up the healing.
“It’s tough when you’re injured because you watch the boys playing every week, but you’re not involved. You have to work hard in the gym and try to get back as quickly as possible.
“Now I have to make sure I don’t do too much, too soon. You’ve got to be careful and don’t rush back too quickly.”
Pompey were poor in the first half at Abbey Stadium, but Colby Bishop headed the winner after the break to secure all three points.
Lowery said: “It’s a really good win and it’s so important to come to places like this and grind out results – it won’t always be pretty.
“I was just told to get on the ball when I came on and I thought we had a good spell in the second half.
“We’re on a positive run now and looking to keep that going. The lads have been playing well and it’s great to have three wins in a row.”