Gillingham wait on news of Eli King after the former Cardiff City midfielder picked up a knee injury in York City defeat – Strikers Will Goodwin and Ronan Hale also went off injured and Lamin Sillah missed out with concussion

Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth admitted there is concern over the injury suffered by midfielder Eli King in Saturday’s defeat at York City.

King was forced off after just half an hour of the 3-0 loss at the LNER Community Stadium after going down without any opponent near him.

The midfielder only joined the Gills on deadline day at the start of September after recovering from an ACL injury suffered in August last year.

That injury kept him sidelined until the summer, with King playing in a couple of friendlies and under-21 matches for Cardiff before making the move to Priestfield.

He’s quickly established himself as an important part of Ainsworth’s team and was making his third successive league start at York, his fourth appearance since joining the club.

Ainsworth admitted the nature of Saturday’s injury was particularly concerning given King’s previous knee problem.

“It's a twist with no-one near him and that can be concerning for somebody who's had a knee injury before,” said Ainsworth.

“We've got Liam Gordon, Kadeem Harris, Zech Obiero [out injured]. We don't want Eli to be added to that long-term list because there are some top players there.

“It's tough, but we'll have to get the others up to speed quick. Armani Little's coming out of the traps, I think, relatively good, and one or two others.

“We'll have a look at that. He's not on crutches, he walked over clapping the fans at the end, which is positive.”

It’s been a catalogue of injury issues for the Gills since the start of the season.

“The luck we've had this season has been unbelievable,” said the Gills boss.

“I'm not one for luck, but something, somewhere is going against us and we're losing [players].

“I can't think there'll be another club in the EFL