Jake Turner has an opportunity to show he can be a Gillingham No.1 following an injury to Glenn Morris.

First-choice keeper Morris went off injured in Saturday’s League 2 game against Northampton Town after landing badly on his right shoulder.

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Morris is now due for a scan which will give the Gills a better indication of how long he will be out for. He is on loan from Crawley, on a deal until January.

Boss Neil Harris said: “He is going to be out for a period. Certainly weeks and past that I wouldn’t like to make a false guess.”

Turner will play against Newport on Saturday. He was already in line to play against Crawley on the Tuesday as Morris was unable to play against his parent club.

Harris wants Turner to prove he can be the main man and that he can show to others that he can be too.

The manager said: “We are pleased with Jake but he has to learn to be a No.1 goalkeeper.

“It is not just about stepping into cup competitions and keeping a clean sheet.

“I said to him at half time (on Tuesday), it is about showing his team and the crowd that he is in control of situations and making sensible decisions and that comes with time.

“He is 23 but he is not an experienced player through games, just experienced through training and being in a professional set-up, so we have to be patient with Jake and we have been.

“He has played a good number of games already this season, which I know he is delighted about, and his opportunity is there now.”

Turner’s previous league experience came on loan in League 2 at Morecambe during the 2020/21 campaign, playing 14 games, and a handful of matches at Colchester last season.

The former Newcastle player came off the bench to replace Morris last Saturday and will be making his first start in the league for Gillingham this weekend at Newport. He has made seven cup appearances for the Gills so far and played in the win against Brentford last week.

Gillingham must wait on Morris’ injury situation before deciding where to go next. They still have a loan deal in place for Charlton’s Ashley Maynard-Brewer, who injured himself in pre-season, just weeks into a season-long loan with Harris’ side. He is fit again.