Mark Bonner has said that Armani Little will be a real loss for Gillingham after he was forced off injured.
The midfielder was substituted in the 29th minute in the Gills’ win over Port Vale, putting an end to their losing run with a win over the league leaders.
“Instantly He Knew”
Speaking to KentOnline, former Cambridge United boss Bonner revealed that Little had sustained an injury but did not know the extent of the damage.
“I thought Armani was brilliant at the time. I don’t know how bad it is but he’s done his hamstring and that’s a real loss for us.
“You could see the legs and energy that he played with, that Timmy (Dieng) played with on the opposite side, that the front two gave us early on and that the two wing-backs gave us, really aggressive, which I loved and it was a shame for us with Armani.
“You always think about ‘look who’s coming back’ and then that happens and there’s no shock that is what happens, so we’ll have to be ‘please God it’s not too bad’ but it didn’t look great because instantly he knew. He had to come off.”
Little has played 16 times this season for Gills since joining on a free transfer from AFC Wimbledon. He has scored two goals so far, against Tranmere Rovers and Accrington Stanley.
Writer’s View
Armani Little is a key player so far for Mark Bonner’s Gillingham so for him to be forced off with a hamstring issue is a big loss. He and Timothee Dieng are a brilliant partnership in the division and now The Gills will be weaker for this setback. George Lapslie and Robbie McKenzie’s absence since October also makes Bonner’s selection headache even bigger, but it is likely that Jonathan Williams or Aaron Rowe will be the choices he will have to replace the 27-year-old.
1st Class Honours in Multimedia Journalism at Salford University. Writing mainly about League Two.
