Manager Gareth Ainsworth will have an input into how Gillingham shape up for the weekend game against Cheltenham - just a week after heart surgery.

Ainsworth went under the knife last Friday, but is now out of hospital, and continuing his rehabilitation at home. He won’t be at Priestfield on Saturday for the League 2 match but wants to get involved in the match preparations.

Assistant boss Richard Dobson has been taking charge in Ainsworth’s absence and shared an update with fans during the pre-match press conference on Thursday.

“It’s good news,” said the Gills no.2. “I spoke with him [Wednesday] morning and he sounded really upbeat - much better than he sounded earlier in the week.

“He'd watched the game the other night [against Colchester United in the EFL Trophy]. We spoke about that. He was going to watch Cheltenham and wanted to get involved in team selection and tactics.

“I told him what we had found in terms of watching Cheltenham so far and we shared ideas.

“I got a call again last night and he'd been discharged from hospital. We thought it was going to be Thursday, Friday but he's out a day earlier and we’re really happy about that.

“He'd slept well. He was full of beans and it was great to hear him in such good spirits. Real good progress.”

Ainsworth had been able to help with the planning for last week’s game against MK Dons but Dobson and the other coaches were left to it for the midweek match at Colchester.

“The game the other night was really the only one that we haven't done without him,” Dobson said.

“He's back and involved. We had a good conversation about Cheltenham and I'll put him on the speaker upstairs [in the office] and we'll have a chat with all the staff about the weekend and get our heads together.”

The Gills have lost both games since the manager went for his operation and Dobson said: “They were devastated last week because they wanted to win for him. That was a tough one for them.

“As I said before, football clubs are about a combination of all the people and it's Gaz's turn at this moment in time to go through a pretty rough time in life.

“It's up to the rest of us just to pull together until he's back in the fold.

“It's going to take a few weeks. When he does come back, it'll be slowly, slowly.

“I'm not sure there's a timescale on that at this moment in time but the good news is he's back home with his family and in creature comforts. It's surely better for him to be repairing that heart alongside his family.”