GAFFER: NORRIS MAKING PROGRESS

Gills boss hopeful of having striker available before the end of the Year

Justin Edinburgh says he is enthused by the progress Luke Norris is making from injury.

The striker hobbled off during the 1-0 win over Crewe in October, with early signs suggesting he could be out until late January.

However the forward is recovering faster than first expected and the Manager hopes he could return sooner rather than later.

He said: “He is progressing really well; I’m delighted with his recovery and rehabilitation.

“Adam Roche has worked tirelessly with him and he looks promising.

“We were looking at 12 weeks but he is ahead of that and hopefully by mid-December he could be back in action.”

With Norris ruled out for at least another four or five weeks the Manager moved quickly to secure the signature of Reading forward Dominic Samuel on a month’s loan, and Justin was pleased with the impact he made during Saturday’s win over Bury.

He said: “He only met his team-mates on Friday – apart from his goal I thought his hold up play was good and he will get better. He hasn’t had much game time since his injury in the early part of the season, we haven’t seen the best of him and there is a lot more to come.

“In his first game I thought he was excellent.

“It’s vitally important for clubs at this level [to use the loan market] and luckily we’ve been able to get the ones we targeted at the start of the season, Dominic took a bit longer because his form at Coventry propelled him into the first team at Reading.”