Gillingham captain Armani Little will be hoping to shake off an injury in time to face his former team.
Little picked up a knock ahead of the Good Friday match at Cheltenham and was left at home with the hope that he could be fit enough to play a part on Monday against AFC Wimbledon.
Little, 28, joined the Gills in the summer from the Dons. The club unveiled their summer recruit in front of fans outside Costa Coffee on Gillingham High Street.
He’s gone on to make 36 appearances for the Gills this season and was handed the captaincy from Max Ehmer midway through the season but hopes of a promotion challenge haven’t worked out.
The battling midfielder will no doubt be keen to face his old team, a side chasing promotion themselves this term, and Ainsworth hopes the rest will have helped his chances.
“He will absolutely be desperate (to play),” said the manager.
“It’s not often I get the privilege of being able to pick somebody and say, ‘look, you stay at home’ because I know how much Monday means to you and things like that.
“We’ve just taken any risk out of the way for Armani. He’s a warrior.
“He’s not one to shirk a challenge but I took the decision out of his hands because I could see him going ‘I’ll play (on Friday)’.”
With Little out, Ainsworth took the opportunity to have a look at January signing Nelson Khumbeni for the first time.
The 22-year-old joined from Bolton for an undisclosed fee but hasn’t had much action since signing.
Friday’s appearance was his fourth start for the club and first appearance in a month.
Ainsworth said: “A battling midfield player. I think he’s done that for Bolton and Accrington and we know what he’s about.
“There’s loads to work on with every player, so there’s loads to work on with Nelson.”
Jack Nolan also got some rare minutes and started for the first time under Ainsworth.
He said: “Jack Nolan adds a little bit of guile to you going forward, definitely. He’s got some good play.
“He’s clever. He’s not just your basic one. It’s really good to cast my eyes over the whole squad.”
Euan Williams was nursing a deadleg and didn’t feature while Ethan Coleman wasn’t involved either after he was reported fit and available again pre-match.
Defender Andy Smith will hope to get involved again soon after he steps up his recovery from injury.
