Jacob Mellis’ return from injury lasted less than 45 minutes but Gillingham boss Steve Evans wasn’t surprised.

Evans was only expecting to get half an hour out of the midfielder after he made his first appearance since undergoing knee surgery. He was back in the side for the first time since mid-October.

Mellis’ injury looked like keeping him out for the season, but his surgery has only particularly corrected his injury complaint, which is expected to be enough to see him through to the summer.

Evans put him on at the break against Doncaster Rovers after the Gills had been outplayed in the opening 45 minutes, the home side bossing possession and leading 1-0. It could have been more.

Mellis was key to helping the Gills regain a foothold in the game. He was eventually withdrawn in the last 10 minutes.

“We were looking for more energy late in the game,” said Evans, explaining the decision to take Mellis off.

“He had run out of legs and it wasn’t because of his performance. Jacob has had two training sessions basically since he has come back into the group and he had been ill a bit. We put him on and I said to Rayns (the assistant manager) it would probably be for half an hour.

“He made a big impact when he came on but we will see how he is, how he recovers on Monday.

“At the end of the (post-match) team talk, in front of the group, I said it was great to have him back. We have had to look after him. He passed the ball and he went on and tried to run. That normally gets you a result or two. We had one or two who didn’t try to run.”

The Gills were missing Matty Willock, out with “severe cramp”. Scott Robertson, who went off injured in midweek, was left out as a precaution.

Stuart O’Keefe, meanwhile, was part of the travelling party and he warmed up before the game with the fitness coach. He’s been out since the early part of the season following a leg break and could be back playing in February.

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