Oli Hawkins played for Gillingham at Doncaster with a broken wrist after a defensive shortage with Max Ehmer and Conor Masterson unavailable

Oli Hawkins made a quicker-than-expected return on Saturday to fill the void at the back for Gillingham - much to the manager’s delight.

Mark Bonner praised the desire of the 32-year-old to play and help out while there was a major lack of defensive cover for the trip to Doncaster. Hawkins played with a cast to protect his broken wrist, even though many told him not to.

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Gillingham were without captain Max Ehmer (suspended) and fellow centre-half Conor Masterson (injured) while both Robbie McKenzie and Tim Dieng - two others who could have played as makeshift defenders - were injured.

Hawkins - transfer-listed at the end of last season but still with the club - was quick to put his name forward and he partnered Shad Ogie at the back.

Bonner said: “It was the best option for us, just for his physicality and his experience and things like that, and he is such a big character in the team.

“I talk about personality and you can talk about it in lots of ways. Some of it is about winning duals and being aggressive - and we lacked a bit of that at times - some of it is getting on the ball, making something happen, be that one v one, doing a bit against your man, bringing the game to life.

“Some of it is, when your wrist is hanging off and it’s broken, you are willing to do a bit for the lads.

The striker has a new club after being released by the #Gills at the end of last season