Loan midfielder Callum Reilly will have to miss Gillingham’s match against his parent side Bury.

Gills loaned Reilly from League 1 rivals the Shakers in mid-January until the end of the season but the relegation-threatened side don’t want him to play on Saturday.

Boss Steve Lovell had no issues with Bury’s decision to not allow him to play – they could have done with written permission – leaving the door open for the return of captain Lee Martin.

“I can’t play him, I am not allowed,” Lovell confirmed.

“That is one of the reasons I brought him off on Tuesday, to get Lee (Martin) on.

“I would be the same if one of my players went somewhere on loan and we were playing against them.

“I don’t think it is fair on the player more than anything. He is still a Bury player, so that’s fine.”

Martin is back from a foot injury picked up in training, having also recently recovered from a calf strain. He came off the bench against Shrewsbury and would seem the obvious candidate to replace Reilly.

Lovell said: “Lee is a great, he went on and had a good go.

“There are boys not even in the squad who are unlucky not to be in it but that is the way it is.

“Conor Wilkinson went on and did another good job. They are all close to playing, but you can only play 11. As long as the boys out there are doing the job they will continue, so there is no reason to change.

“That was the third game in a row we have played that way, the same personnel, but we’ve got Scott Wagstaff and Lee Martin and Wilkinson, List, Moussa, good players on the bench who can’t get into the team at the moment.

“It is a good position for me to be in.”