Chris Palmer and Stuart Lewis battling it out to replace injured Gillingham captain Barry Fuller
Comments |
By Luke Cawdell
Gillingham manager Mark Stimson is
ready to let Chris Palmer and Stuart Lewis battle it out for the
right to replace injured defender Barry Fuller.
The Gills captain, who broke his
arm last Tuesday against Leyton Orient, learned on Friday that he
will be out for four to six weeks.
Stimson is reluctant to enter the
loan market to fill the void left by the right-back, and that means
Palmer or Lewis will be called upon to fill in.
Stimson also has youngster Jack
Payne who can play in that position and he hopes to have enough
quality in his squad to cope.
He said: "A loan is difficult
because there aren’t many out there who are experienced enough and
it would have to be a young one. I think Stuart Lewis and Chris
Palmer amongst themselves will have to be good enough to do it.
"Chris did his best on Saturday. It
was always going to be difficult because he hasn’t played for a
while and there was a bit of rustiness in his legs."
Palmer conceded a second-half
penalty in Saturday's game at Carlisle and was replaced by Lewis
(pictured), who is a natural midfielder, but he filled in during
Fuller’s absence last season.
Lewis was back in Gills’ 18-man
squad just days after being made available for loan. Fuller’s
injury meant that Stimson pulled the plug on any possible
short-term move away from Priestfield for Lewis.
Tuesday, March 02 2010
The KM Group does not moderate comments.
Please click here for our house rules.