Justin Edinburgh is confident Gillingham’s walking wounded will be back imminently.

Some of the club’s key men have missed the opening weeks and niggles have kept others sidelined, but manager Edinburgh believes it is only a short-term problem.

He said: “They are all very close. It is about not rushing them back too quickly so that when we get them back, we keep them back.”

Skipper Doug Loft (calf) and Cody McDonald (ankle) are unlikely to be in the squad for Tuesday's trip to Bradford. Neither has featured since the opening week of pre-season.

Midfielders Emmanuel Osadebe and Aaron Morris could, however, be back.

Edinburgh said: “I hate to keep putting times on the players because the fans and people get disappointed. You do have setbacks. Our plan is for Cody to be back (training) on Wednesday.”

The lack of first team players meant a place on the bench for 16-year-old midfielder Darren Oldaker at Port Vale on Saturday, along with development player Elliot List.

“They are the next players to come in and we had nobody else who was fit,” added Edinburgh.

“They are two good promising young players that, as long as they keep their feet on the floor and continue to work hard, have bright futures in the game."