Big striker Tom Eaves is back from his four-game ban on Tuesday as the Gills entertain League 1 leaders Wigan.

But it’s unlikely that any of their injured defensive trio will be fit after Alex Lacey, Luke O’Neill and Ben Nugent all missed the weekend trip to Peterborough.

Caretaker-boss Steve Lovell said: “Tom is back and that’s nice. I don’t know how we will go on Tuesday yet, I will look at the Wigan report, but it is nice to have an extra body.

“The sooner we can get Alex Lacey, Luke O’Neill and Ben Nugent back the better. They will be struggling for Tuesday.

“Perhaps one of them will be back for Northampton (on Saturday) and perhaps the week after for the others, but these injuries can clear up quickly. They are making good progress.”

One player who will be pushing to reclaim his starting place is Conor Wilkinson, who had to make do with a substitute appearance at Peterborough.

Lovell said: “I have had a little word with Conor. He has been great but we haven’t been getting enough out of him. He admits that and you could see when he came on he had a right good go.

“Hopefully that’s a kick up the backside because he has great qualities, but he needs to work hard. On Saturday he did and I am pleased for him.”

Lovell knows getting results against the top sides will be tough but believes a more positive approach is the way forward.

He said: “It is not so much the results, it is the performances. You are going to come up against the better sides and on their day they will beat you, but if you put on a performance where you are in the game then you have a chance.

“It is better than going out there to just not lose a game.

“We have worked as a unit, we have played a different system, played more attacking but in that attacking system we played defensively minded, our full-backs did a great job of taking care of their wide people.”