THE versatility offered by Billy Jones influenced the striking of a loan deal which has seen the defender rejoin Crewe.

Jones, now 33, will help boost the Alex's defensive resources after the sale of Perry Ng to Cardiff and injuries to Luke Offord and Harry Pickering.

The loan arrangement with Rotherham, which runs until the end of the season, was finalised last night so that the Shrewsbury-born defender could return to Gresty Road 13-and-a-half years after leaving for Preston as a highly-promising youngster.

Dave Artell will assess whether Jones, whose game time with the Yorkshire club has been limited this term, is ready to make his second Alex debut when AFC Wimbledon are the visitors tomorrow (K.O 3pm).

The Crewe boss said: "Billy has played left-back, right-back and at holding midfielder for Rotherham this season, and he can play centre-half.

"That versatility was a key factor in bringing him in because of the situation in terms of Covid and the number of games in a short period of time.

"Players that can play in numerous positions like Billy are invaluable and that dictated our efforts to bring him back."

Artell maintains there was no pressure on him to delve into the market despite the injuries to Offord and Pickering. He has said that he was happy to see Travis Johnson continue on his learning curve in the right-back berth left vacant by Ng's move.

But Jones brings a wealth of experience from a career which has seen him chalk up over 500 appearances for Crewe in his previous stint, Preston and then six seasons in the Premier League with West Brom and Sunderland.

He was only 20 when he joined PNE in 2007, by which time he had played four campaigns with Crewe having made his debut as a 16-year-old in October 2003. He was marked out as a key talent after joining the club's Academy a couple of years before that on the recommendation of former defender Dave Walton.

By the time he departed to the Championship with Preston he was one of the most highly-rated young defenders in the English game. While he may now be in the veteran stage of his career, Artell says it is a "good deal" for Crewe and joked: "We've swopped a Championship player for a Premiership player.

"I know the staff at Rotherham who have been brilliant and it is a good deal. They were very helpful and we thank them for that, and Billy's agent, who wasn't in my best books last week.

"Billy wants to play good football and maximise his abilities; and that's not to say he wasn't doing that at Rotherham."

But the manager added: "We weren't under any pressure to bring anyone in as we've got two young full-backs in Rio (Adebisi) and Travis (Johnson), who has been doing well."

On his return, Jones said: "It's great to be joining a team that is doing so well and if I can use my experience to help the team and younger players then that would be great.

"I'm really looking forward to it. When you join a club on loan you hope you can make an impact and get in the team as soon as possible. I always imagined potentially being back here one day and now it has come about I'm really happy.

"I'll try and emulate how I was when I was last here."

There is more good news too as Crewe's worst fears on Offord's hamstring injury have proved unfounded. The 21-year-old hobbled out of the midweek win over Bristol Rovers, but a scan has revealed only a grade one tear and Artell reported: "He won't be playing tomorrow, but it is nowhere near as bad as we first thought."

Pickering is being assessed for a back spasm problem after also retiring on Tuesday night and looks unlikely to be involved tomorrow.

Daniel Powell is close to fitness again after a three-game absence following a knee problem, but the attacker is viewed by Artell as "touch and go" to feature against The Dons, who despite being in the middle of a poor run of form are seen as a real threat by the Crewe boss.

After being beaten in the capital by the Alex on December 19 Glyn Hodges' side have lost another four games consecutively, but Artell said: "Wimbledon have got some good players and we saw that when we went down there. We respect everyone and Glyn has got a good team.

"They're having a sticky patch, but that doesn't mean anything really."