Gillingham midfielder Shaun Williams wasn’t letting a giant-sized ankle get in the way of making an appearance on Saturday.

The Irishman was a major doubt for Gills’ weekend match at Crewe but he made the trip, set up the opening goal and lasted the 90 minutes, captaining the side to a well-earned point.

Williams - wearing the skipper's armband while Stuart O'Keefe is out injured - had his ankle strapped to help with the swelling on Saturday and was straight away seeking the ice after the match as he prepares for their next test.

“There was swelling and bruising but the medical team helped me get through,” said the 35-year-old.

“I wasn’t that confident of making it but each 24 hours it got better and better and that’s how I ended up out there. It is not painful but it is massive. Gary the physio strapped it up like it was in plaster, it’s massive!

“I didn’t do any training Wednesday or Thursday, down to the swelling and lack of movement that I had in the ankle, but I was deemed fit.”

Williams’ corner kick was headed home by Mikael Mandron to give Gills the lead at Crewe before the hosts hit back soon after. It had been a lively opening but the second half didn’t leave a lot to write home about.

It’s another point on the board for the Gills, however. It’s one defeat in six now in the league as the team start to slowly turn around their worrying early season form.

“It is definitely a step in the right direction,” Williams said. “We haven’t picked up as many wins as we would like but the foundations are there, just maybe a little luck here and there like last Saturday, when we had three disallowed, hopefully they start falling on the right side for us.

“We signed 15-16 players (in the summer), it is going to take time to gel, it is not going to be perfect straight away. Now that we have built this solid foundation at the back, hopefully the top end of the pitch can complement what the boys at the back are doing.

“It will take time, with the results picking up a bit hopefully it will give people confidence going forward. There is not much else we can do, everyone is trying their hardest throughout the week, it all then comes down to what we do on Saturday.”

On the game at Crewe, he said: “It was a promising performance that we probably should have got three points from. They caused us a few issues here and there but nothing too much on the whole, we were comfortable in the second half and unlucky not to get the winner.”

Williams picked up an injury in last Tuesday's EFL Trophy match against Brighton under-21s and may well be rested this time around when the Gills host Colchester United tomorrow (Tuesday) night in their final group stage match. Gillingham return to League 2 action at home to leaders Stevenage this Saturday coming.

*Gillingham defender David Tutonda will have an operation today (Monday) on a knee injury and is expected to then be unavailable for up to a month.