The ‘professionalism’ of returning players Shad Ogie and Jonny Williams has been praised by the Gillingham manager.
Both Ogie and Williams came in from the cold to play against Fleetwood Town on Saturday.
Ogie replaced injured Omar Beckles in central defence while Williams was introduced in the second half for starter Euan Williams.
Neither Ogie nor Jonny Williams had featured for weeks before being thrown in against Fleetwood.
Ainsworth said: “[That] absolutely shows the professionalism of what those boys have done while they’ve been out of the squad.
“To counter that, I think we’ve treated them right, we never just ostracise anyone.
“They’ve understood and they’ve come back in the squad and delivered when they’ve needed to.
“Fair play to them, it gives me more headaches when everyone’s fit.
“Even though they’ve not been in the squad for a while, they have conducted themselves really excellently. People need to know this.
“There’s been no fallout. They have conducted themselves super professionally. As did Trav [Akomeah], when he was left out the other week and didn’t come to Barrow with us.
“They all work hard. That’s why when they come in the team, they don’t look out of place. They’ve looked alright.”
Their inclusion came as a surprise. In his pre-match comments, Ainsworth gave no indication of the injury problems the Gills were facing, saying they were “in a good place.”
Dack, Cameron Antwi and captain Armani Little had picked up injuries at Barrow the week before. Ainsworth said he “definitely expected a couple to be involved” against Fleetwood. None of those three were.
In addition, Beckles also missed the game. The Gills manager revealed post-match that the experienced centre-half had also picked up an injury at Barrow.
Ainsworth said: “Omar picked a muscle injury up, as did Dack and Little. Gareth McCleary is recovering from one, Cameron Antwi had a contact injury and Conor Masterson’s still recovering from one. Some real big players are out at the moment and it makes a difference.”
He added: “When you lose your top players, you suffer and I’m not making excuses, but wow, got to give some credit to the boys who stepped up and I’m really proud of them.”
Ainsworth had also said pre-match on Thursday that the injuries at Barrow weren’t as bad as they thought. Antwi was spotted hobbling to his seat with the aid of a crutch at Priestfield on Saturday.
Asked after the game how bad the injury was, Ainsworth replied: “It’s bad enough. He’ll be out for definitely a couple of games and we’ll have to see what magic we can work.
“It was a tough tackle that he went into last week and that shows the commitment of him, he’s brilliantly committed for this club.
“It was just unfortunately that on his full debut he had to limp off after 25 minutes.”
The Gills are back in action at home on Tuesday night when they host second-placed MK Dons.
