Gills boss Justin Edinburgh fears his skipper could be facing another spell on the sidelines.

Doug Loft has only just returned from an ankle injury, picked up in the game against Oldham, leading him to miss two matches.

He limped off on Saturday, in Gills’ 3-0 win over Crewe, with an Achilles injury and left the stadium on crutches.

It was another blow for boss Edinburgh, who is already missing several key men.

He said: “It is not looking promising and looks like an Achilles problem. We will have to assess it and get it scanned. It’s a massive blow.”

The Gills boss was more hopeful over defender Adam El-Abd, who pulled up with a hamstring strain and went off at the break.

Edinburgh said: “Adam is a real minor strain.

“For Adam to come in on loan and play as many games as he has in a short space of time, there is always that danger, but hopefully we got him off quick enough and that won’t be too long.”

Edinburgh was only able to name six substitutes for the Crewe match as youngster Elliott List, who has been a regular name in the matchday squad recently, picked up an injury in a midweek reserve game at Cambridge.

The Gills boss said: “We are being hit hard right now and that is disappointing because we have been really thorough in everything we’ve done.

“We work hard on the sports science and the rehabilitation to get everything right.”

The Gills are already without leading scorer Bradley Dack, defensive mainstay John Egan, regular right-back Ryan Jackson and goal-poacher Cody McDonald.

Edinburgh hailed Saturday's win as one of his best since taking charge of the Gills. Read his post-match reaction here.