Gillingham's Zech Obiero Faces Lengthy Injury Setback

Gillingham have been dealt another brutal injury blow, with manager Gareth Ainsworth confirming that midfielder Zech Obiero is likely to be sidelined for “a month or two” after damaging both hamstrings.

The 21-year-old, on loan from Leyton Orient, had barely pulled on a Gills shirt before his season was abruptly halted. He lasted just 15 minutes of his debut in Saturday’s 4-1 League Two win at Rochdale before breaking down.

For a player desperate to make an early statement, it could hardly have started worse.

Ainsworth, speaking to BBC Radio Kent, did not sugar-coat the situation.

“I think it will be a sustained period on the touchline,” he said. “Terrible for him to start his Gillingham career that way, but it's football.”

The result at Rochdale underlined Gillingham’s attacking threat. Yet the victory came at a cost, and the manager’s frustration was clear. Even so, his faith in Obiero has not wavered.

“I'd sign him again tomorrow,” Ainsworth insisted. “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 the latest in a grim run of early-season injuries for the club. He is now the third player to suffer a serious problem in the opening month of the campaign.

Captain and centre-back Liam Gordon suffered a knee injury on his debut on the opening day. Then came a major blow out wide, with 33-year-old winger Kadeem Harris rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in the 0-0 draw at Fleetwood.

The pattern has left Ainsworth shaking his head.

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

Questions inevitably follow a spate of problems like this, especially around training methods. Ainsworth batted those away with a sharp retort.

“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’s squad has already been forced to bend without breaking. With their captain out, a senior winger gone long term and a promising young midfielder now facing weeks of rehab, that resilience is about to be tested all over again.