Gillingham’s preparations for the weekend have been hit by a sickness bug.

The Gills cancelled training on Thursday in a bid to stop the illness from spreading further after six players reported in ill along with two members of staff.

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Head coach Stephen Clemence spoke to the press earlier than normal on Thursday after plans for the weekend game were disrupted.

He said: “We have a number of players who reported sick this morning – more than I have ever encountered before.

“We cancelled training because we have a couple of staff down too.

“We hope it’s a 24-hour sickness bug and they will all report okay tomorrow (Friday). It has been an unusual day but we couldn’t have all the other players in because they could still be carriers and we don’t want it to spread any further.

“I think we can still get the work (scheduled for Thursday) in tomorrow and we’ll be training on the (Priestfield) pitch.

“Of course, you would rather see them, rather get in and review the last game and start concentrating on the next one but at the minute our concern is that they get well and hopefully report okay tomorrow (Friday).”

The B Team did manage to train and among their numbers was striker Josh Andrews, who is recovering from injury. He’s now expected to start featuring in the team at the end of this month.

Left-back Max Clark, meanwhile, has been suffering from an injury he picked up at Wimbledon and wasn’t expected to take part on Thursday anyway, meaning he will be a weekend doubt.

Conor Masterson missed out on Saturday through suspension after being sent off in midweek.

Clemence will be hoping their decision to keep the players apart pays off as they prepare to face a huge weekend game.

The Gills lost 2-0 at play-off rivals Wimbledon on Tuesday night and are now facing a battle to stay involved in the race for the top seven.

Beating lowly Grimsby Town on Saturday will be crucial as they need plenty of wins from their last eight games but sickness in the camp was the last thing the management team needed.