Defender Garry Richards has suffered a setback in his bid to be fit for the start of the League 2 season.

The 24-year-old was expected to play for Gillingham at Faversham on Tuesday night but was pulled out on medical advice.

Richards (pictured) is recovering from a summer operation on his ankle and has only managed a brief run-out against Croydon Athletic last weekend.

He now won’t be ready in time for the start of the season against Cheltenham on Saturday.

Manager Andy Hessenthaler said: "He had an injection in the foot where he had the operation and was all geared to play at Faversham but unfortunately in training he was advised by the doctor to rest up.

"It’s a blow again because we wanted to get him playing for at least 60 minutes which would have been great for us.

"I thought he would have been ready for the start of the season but he isn’t."

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