Boss Justin Edinburgh has saluted the fighting spirit of striker Luke Norris following his timely recovery from injury.

The front-man was a key player for the Gills as they surged to the top of League 1 in the opening months of the season.

Norris has made a quicker recovery than expected after an ankle injury at Crewe two months ago and is expected to return to the matchday squad for the trip to Millwall on Saturday.

Edinburgh said: “He has pretty much cut the recovery time in half and I am pleased for him and pleased for us that we are getting one of our best performers of the season so far, back into the group. Over this busy period, it is good to have everyone to select from.

“It’s been amazing and that is credit to him, his attitude and desire. With the position we are in, sometimes that can give a more positive effect to the player to know what he is coming back into.”

Norris scored three times and was an ever-present before the injury blow.

And Edinburgh knows just what an impact he has.

He said: “He is different to the other strikers that we have here and that has sometimes shown in some of our performances where perhaps we haven’t been as compact and as good with the ball because he is a focal of what we do. We have certainly missed him.”