Kioso and Miller battle through, but Brady has a new injury headache

The return of winger Mickel Miller to the starting line-up on Saturday was a welcome boost for Jon Brady and the Cobblers, but that good news was offset by a fresh injury blow.

Miller lasted 56 minutes on his first start in over a month as he returned earlier than expected from a hamstring injury, while Peter Kioso gamely battled through the entire 95 minutes despite his ongoing groin problem.

However, Brady lost Ryan Watson during the closing stages of the 2-2 draw with Gillingham. The midfielder had to be replaced by Caleb Chukwuemeka with 15 minutes to go at Priestfield.

Watson joins Steve Arnold, Jack Sowerby, Benny Ashley-Seal and Alan Sheehan on the injury list.

"It's a bit like Monty Python bring out the dead, isn't it? It's unbelievable," said Brady. "We hope Watto will be OK because he's been a key player for us.

"If I'm honest, I don't know what the injury is at the moment because all I've done is debrief the players and be really positive with them and then I'll go in and speak to Nacho and see where we're at with him.

"It looked like an ankle or a knee issue but at least he walked off. I'm no physio but I think that's a positive sign!"