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Gillingham boss Steve Evans will be short of bodies again for their FA Cup first round replay at Cheltenham Town tonight.
He’s still counting the cost of the first match with Cheltenham that left him with three players injured. Ryan Jackson returned at the weekend but two remained out and two more limped off at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
There’s a chance Mustapha Carayol can return to action after missing the last two games with illness while Alex MacDonald is apparently closing in on a return.
Dan Phillips made a quicker than expected return from injury to put in a quality performance in midfield for the Gills at Hillsborough but 90 minutes in that game might leave him struggling for another outing in the first round replay at Cheltenham.
Evans will be hoping captain Kyle Dempsey and leading scorer Vadaine Oliver can recover from their weekend injuries - both landed awkwardly - but might decide against risking them anyway.
Looking ahead to the game, Evans said: “We just need to look at who we have available. I would be surprised if we see Dan Phillips in the eleven considering he has gone through 98 minutes, but we got Ben Reeves on the pitch, he had been feeling a strain early on in the week. Dan Adshead had been out injured and has come back.
“I wouldn't think they are is any hope whatsoever that the boys who came off injured (Dempsey and Oliver) will have a chance and I wouldn’t have thought they would have a chance for next week either.
“We have to regroup and assess. I need to remove myself from the tittle-tattle about what we have available and what we have not, focus on what we have and the positivity of representing this club.
“We will make changes. Cup runs are great for finances, great for the club, but it is a real difficult season for us and we have had unprecedented injuries.
“I have never had it before with main players, it makes it difficult but our chairman was right to say that he invests when he can, and the football club never gets put in jeopardy and I stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
“We may have disagreements at times but one thing we have in common is that we want Gillingham Football Club to be going forward in a successful way.”
Evans will be prepared for another physical test against Cheltenham. They took the lead in the first game at Priestfield before youngster Gerald Sithole equalised.
The Gills boss said: “We are only in the FA Cup replay because apparently Gerald rolled it in off his shin, so the Cheltenham manager said. Has he seen the footage!
“It is always a tough place to go, whatever level through the pyramid, great supporters and proper people. When I normally go to Cheltenham it is to the racing but it is good to go there and it is a proper place to play football against, a good side.”
The winners of Tuesday's replay face AFC Wimbledon away in round two.
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