Gillingham midfielder Armani Little has made a timely return from injury - and could be back in the starting eleven to face his old team tonight.

The 27-year-old came off the bench at Colchester on Boxing Day to mark the end of a lengthy spell on the sidelines through injury, missing from action since limping off in the home game against Port Vale in early November.

Next up for the Gills is a match against Wimbledon tonight, Little’s former team who he left in the summer for a move to Priestfield.

Gills manager Mark Bonner is sure to make changes to a team that struggled against Colchester on Boxing Day - losing 2-0 - and Little is likely to be a safe option to help get the team back on track, if fit.

Tim Dieng also made a return from injury on Boxing Day - playing for the first time since November 23.

Bonner said: “They (Little and Dieng) ended up doing maybe longer than they were ready for at the moment, on quite a heavy surface. They will benefit from that maybe down the line.

“But in the end, it's today that we needed to be good. It's today that we needed to hit the level. It's today that we needed to keep stacking results together. We talk about that all the time.

“It’s a really tough game next that we've got away from home against another good side but if we show and give the level that we are capable of, then we can go and get a result there.

“But at the same time, we know for every MK Dons, Notts County, Carlisle, Tranmere, Barrow, there's Bromley and Colchester as well.

“That's where the difference between our good and our bad is way too big and that's a sure sign of a season that will just drift along and be a fairly average one, in line with the last few. We need to be better than that.”

Bonner will have had much to ponder after a 2-0 loss at Colchester, having stuck with the same starting eleven which had given so much the game before against Cheltenham, in an entertaining 2-2 draw.

The performance levels dropped significantly from one game to the next.

If available to start, Little is sure to make a positive impact and captain Max Ehmer spoke highly of him after the loss to Colchester.

He said: “He's massive. He leads through his determination and the way he gets around the pitch. He spurs everyone on.

“He went on and did really well. He got on the ball and played some fantastic passes, but we lost the game. As well as he did, we've lost.”

Little switched clubs in the summer, turning down an offer of a new contract at Wimbledon, with the expectation of fighting for promotion with the Gills but Monday night’s game starts with his old club five places and four points better off.

The midfielder was a regular starter as Gillingham began the season with just one defeat in their opening eight games, leading League 2 at the end of September. Just three wins in 12 since then has seen them slip to mid-table ahead of their trip to Plough Lane.