Gillingham look set to be without Andy Barcham for the crucial match at Chesterfield this weekend after he hobbled off on Saturday.

The Gills winger (pictured), who has been plagued by an ankle injury all season, was struggling with a hamstring problem and came off with less than half an hour played.

Unless the Gills now make the play-offs it will be Barcham’s last contribution of the season.

Gills manager Andy Hessenthaler said: "Andy Barcham had a slight problem before the game but he came in and said he felt good.

"We knew his hamstring was a little bit tight and it just wasn’t right at the wrong time. He will now miss next Saturday. I can’t see him being fit.

"He is looking very doubtful for the weekend which is a blow because he is a key player to us."

Barcham, who was voted the club’s player-of-the-year last season, has been restricted to just 26 games this campaign because of injury.

Defender Simon King, meanwhile, was also substituted but Hessenthaler added he took that decision for tactical reasons.

The Gills boss said: "He has been thrown in. He felt good in the week and looked good against Rotherham and we knew he would get fatigue.

"The boy up top (for Macclesfield) was quick and we felt we needed someone with pace so we put (Tony) Sinclair in there and tried to get Barry Fuller as high up the pitch as possible.

"It was nothing against Kingy, it was just that we felt we needed to do something slightly different at half-time."