Gillingham centre-back Conor Masterson declared fit ahead of League 2 match at Bradford City this Saturday

Conor Masterson’s return to fitness has given manager Mark Bonner some added options in defence as they go to Bradford with renewed vigour.

Bonner was upset at his team’s defending last weekend, labelling the second they conceded in a 2-1 home loss against Accrington as a disgrace, but is looking ahead to the next challenge.

Bradford City away is a huge one for a team hunting for points off the back of three straight defeats but Masterson’s return is a big boost. Bonner might be tempted to put him straight in to start.

Bonner said: “That will give us another option as and when he's ready to go, so that's good because the more of them we get the better.

“Obviously, Oli Hawkins has played there sparingly, but not from the start, so really Shad (Ogie) and Max (Ehmer) have I think started pretty much every game there.”

Bonner’s worked with Masterson before at Cambridge United and picked him to start the first league game of the season at Gillingham, in a 4-1 win over Carlisle United.

An Achilles injury has kept the defender out ever since.

Bonner said: “What I like about him is that he's obviously aggressive in both boxes, which is a real good trait for a centre-half of this league. He'll win aerial contacts and he's got a winning mentality, which I quite like.

“You'll always hear him when he's about, when he's training and when he's playing, you can hear his voice so that's good. They're qualities I think that will serve him well.

“Hopefully, as he gets fitter he'll have an opportunity at some point to play and then when he does he'll have to be good to keep it, that's the challenge but he's certainly got some real good qualities to be a good centre-half at this level as everyone has seen.”

Bonner didn’t hide his