Gillingham were a player short at Lincoln after one of their team members missed the bus.

Midfielder Matty Willock was left behind after getting stuck in traffic on his way to meeting up with the rest of the team before their trip to Lincoln on Tuesday.

The Gills named just six substitutes instead of seven but managed without him, recording an impressive 3-0 win against a team riding high in the League 1 table.

Boss Steve Evans said the 24-year-old midfielder would be in for extra training on Wednesday (today) before joining back up with the first team squad to fight for his place ahead of the weekend.

He said: “We left him behind, simple. He got stuck in traffic on the M25.

“I am watching Arsenal leave their captain out for being late and I have had those principles for 15 years.

“He is not that type of kid and before anyone jumps up, it is my decision, he will train extra on Wednesday and then come back into the group and will be fighting fit. He will be hurting.”

The Gills didn’t have anyone else they could have named unless they dipped into the youth team. Evans has gone for quality over quantity this season, running with a smaller squad.

He said: “We always knew that we would run the risk of being short at times but what we would give for Slattery to be fit, we are waiting on an update, what we would give for Samuel, he is getting there but we don’t know when.

“We will work with the 17-18 we have to pick and we believe in this group.”

Read more: 'We could have won by more' says Gills boss after Lincoln win