Bolton Wanderers keep eye on Josh Vela fitness as Phil Parkinson looks to pass road test at Gillingham

The in-form midfielder aggravated an ankle injury in the 4-2 victory at Fleetwood Town and has been watched closely by the Whites’ medical staff over the last couple of days.

Parkinson is optimistic the problem will not prevent Vela from playing at Priestfield.

“He has got a bit of a problem with his ankle,” he said. “He actually had a fitness test on it before the Wimbledon game but Josh is a tough lad. It’s hard to keep him out of training, let alone a game.

“He was in on Sunday to have a look at it but we’ll know more after training down there.”

Parkinson is mindful that a long trip down to Kent after an exhilarating victory at the weekend does pose a mental test for his side.

Gillingham beat promotion hopefuls Scunthorpe United in their last outing and the Whites boss admits he is considering freshening his line-up – which could mean a full debut for new arrival Jem Karacan.

The chance of returning to the top two – a possibility if results elsewhere go Wanderers’ way – is a strong incentive, says Parkinson.

“Getting that winning feeling was great but we need to remember the work that went into it because nothing less will be good enough down at Gillingham.

“Whether we make changes or not, we’ll only decide closer to kick-off, but what a target that it to get back-to-back away wins. It’s a long trip on a Tuesday night, another difficult environment, these are the tests you have to pass.

“There’s a certain approach you have to take to get wins on the road. Before the Wimbledon and Bristol Rovers games earlier in the season we’d had the big meeting with the lads to discuss exactly what was going wrong because before we came in, the club hadn’t won away from home for ages.

“The make-up of your side has to be right. Having Darren Pratley back on Saturday helped give us the character, helped us get that back.

“We have put ourselves back into a good position, there is so much to play for.”