Gillingham captain Armani Little has made himself available for the League Two trip to Salford City this weekend despite suffering a nasty injury on Easter Monday

Gillingham captain Armani Little has given his manager a surprise boost after declaring himself fit for the weekend.

Manager Gareth Ainsworth expected his skipper to be missing for several weeks, after suffering a nasty hand injury in Monday’s win over Accrington Stanley. The Gills boss even feared his captain might miss the rest of the season.

But Little has had other ideas and, according to Ainsworth, his skipper wants to be involved this weekend when the Gills travel to Salford City.

Ainsworth isn’t sure if he’ll make it but there’s a good chance - a welcome boost for a manager who has had to cope with countless injury issues this season.

Speaking ahead of the trip, Ainsworth said: “It’s surprised me. He had a nasty finger injury, believe me.

“We're privy to having a look at the doctor's reports and things like that and it was a nasty one, with dislocation and a slash.

“I think one of the blades in the modern-day boots has slashed him down to the tendons and things like that.

“I actually feared the worst for him but he rocked up [on Thursday] morning, almost got a plaster on it, and he says he's ready to go again. That's the type of character I want. That's the type of character he is.

“It is a little bit more than a plaster on it. He wants to see the season out. He's saying it's only a finger injury – and he's not a goalkeeper.

“For me, we'll see how he is the next couple of days. So far, so good.

“It’s a bit of a positive. Maybe this luck's turning a little bit and Armani will feature on Saturday.”

Ainsworth also commented on defender Conor Masterson’s return to the team on Monday, coming on as a late substitute.

It ends a second spell out injured longer-term for the centre-half and Ainsworth says the 27-year-old