Gillingham Faces Injury Blow as Obiero Ruled Out

Gillingham’s bright start to the season has been hit by another brutal injury setback, with Gareth Ainsworth confirming Zech Obiero faces up to two months out after damaging both hamstrings on his debut.

The 21-year-old midfielder, on loan from Leyton Orient, lasted just 15 minutes of Saturday’s 4-1 demolition of Rochdale in League Two before pulling up in obvious distress. The scoreline was emphatic. The cost was heavy.

Ainsworth did not sugar-coat the news.

He told BBC Radio Kent that Obiero is likely to spend “a month or two” on the sidelines, describing it as “a sustained period on the touchline” and admitting it was a cruel way for the youngster to start life at Priestfield.

“Terrible for him to start his Gillingham career that way, but it's football,” Ainsworth said, underlining both the harshness and inevitability of such moments in the game.

The Gills boss, though, made it clear his faith in the midfielder has not shifted an inch.

“I’d sign him again tomorrow. I know exactly what he bring us, but he's a strong boy and he'll come back stronger than ever.

“We’ll have to do without him, and the boys have adapted really well with that.”

Obiero’s setback is not an isolated problem. It’s the third major injury Gillingham have suffered in the opening month of the campaign, turning what should have been a bedding-in period into a test of depth and resolve.

Club captain and centre-back Liam Gordon was the first to go down, suffering a knee injury on his debut on the opening day. Then came the hammer blow to experienced winger Kadeem Harris, 33, who ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament in the 0-0 draw at Fleetwood.

• Three big players.
• Three serious injuries.
• All before the season has truly settled.

“It's unbelievable, and we've had some freakishly ridiculous injuries,” Ainsworth added. “It's unfortunate, but it does come in threes. Hopefully that's the end of it.”

The run of bad luck has inevitably raised questions about workload and training methods, but Ainsworth batted those away with a sharp edge.

“People can talk about the way we train. He only trained one day, Zech! So if that's done him in, I'm going to leave this industry.”

Gillingham have started the season playing with intent and aggression. Now they must prove they can ride out an early injury storm just as convincingly.