Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse at Gillingham, it looks like manager Steve Evans will struggle to field a side for Saturday’s League One trip to Fleetwood Town.

With the biggest injury crisis already having hit the club in recent memory, things went from bad to worse on Tuesday night as The Gills lost 5-1 at league leaders Rotherham United.

Firstly defender Max Ehmer went off after just eleven minutes with a dislocated shoulder and is now expected to be out for a number of weeks.

If that wasn’t bad enough, striker John Akinde wasn’t to return for the second half, going off with a hamstring injury.

On top of that, defender Ryan Jackson was sent off after 71 minutes and will now miss Saturday’s game along with Alex MacDonald who has now been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Both David Tutonda and Rhys Bennett had been hoped to have taken their places in the squad at Rotherham, but the former has aggravated his hamstring injury and Steve Evans confirmed after the game that Bennett wasn’t deemed fit enough to even take a place on the bench:

“I had a conversation with Rhys Bennett and said if there were 25 minutes left would he be able to go on and he said ‘no’.”

“Rhys sat there and probably went home relieved. He is feeling his knee and David Tutonda pulled up feeling his hamstring again on Monday.”

“There is no sign of people coming back and when they come back they are not ready to play. If we bring Ben Reeves back, who is probably the nearest, it is probably 80% chance of risking an injury with him. He is not ready to start games in League One with the competitiveness that it is.”

“We have no options, it is either that or babies and we saw what happened with the babies didn’t we?”

With the injury list lengthening by the day, Evans admitted he has never known anything like it:

 “I have used the word unprecedented and I know the chairman has used that word as well. I have never known anything like it, ever.”

“It is a hard drive to come into work every day to see what we have got in our treatment room, we love every one of them, they don’t want to be in there, but when you are injured, you are injured.”

“It is unprecedented times, unprecedented injuries. In 20 years of football management it’s the most I’ve ever known. I sat with the chairman on Friday and he said he didn’t know anything like it. For once we agreed.”

That final sentence tells you everything you need to know about Gillingham Football Club at present.

There is clearly a rift between Evans and chairman Paul Scally with the paper thin squad unable to be strengthened due to the Football League embargo.

Saturday’s squad could resemble a school side more than a team that plays in the Football League.

Only goalkeeper Jamie Cumming (Covid) is expected to be back and available.

That could leave Evans with just eleven available professionals and two of them are goalkeepers.

Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse at Gillingham, they do.

It’s quite a challenge at present for Gillingham fans to believe they will be at a Christmas party celebrating a few wins for the club.

Reflecting on the game at Rotherham, Evans admitted his side were comfortably beaten and was clearly dejected after yet another defeat:

“In the first 20 minutes we were by far the better side. The ten minutes before half-time were pivotal. Our goalkeeper made a howler and they equalised.I t’s a different game then. It’s a long second half for us.”

“I have no complaints. They’re a terrific side and they could put full internationals on from the bench.”

“They have probably had 40 shots on our goal. They beat us comfortably and missed a load of chances.”