Chris Palmer scores from the spot against Shrewsbury during Gillingham's 2-0 win at Priestfield in September Picture: Barry Goodwin

By Luke Cawdell

The last time Gillingham played Shrewsbury the key man on the day was Chris Palmer.

The midfielder scored both goals against Saturday's opponents in a 2-0 win back in September. He made a scintillating start to the season, hitting five goals and proving a key figure for the club, before a training ground injury brought an abrupt end to his fun.

Palmer has been out for three months now, after damaging his knee, and still faces several more months on the sidelines, but he’s targeting a return before the end of the season.

"When I do get back I will be raring to go," he said. "Hopefully I can return before the end of the season and carry on where I left off and be a part of a promotion-winning side.

"As long as I feel 100 per cent it shouldn’t matter how long I’ve been out, I should be able to pick up where I left off."

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It may still be touch and go whether Palmer makes it back before the season ends. He is looking at an April return date but he does not want to get wrapped up in deadlines.

He said: "I don’t want to put a timescale on it because if I don’t make it I will be disappointed. It would just be nice to be back before the end of the season so I can help us go up."

If Palmer does not make it back by May he is hoping his performances at the beginning of the season will be enough to earn him a new deal. He is out of contract in the summer.

"I hope that I’ve done enough, I was enjoying it," Palmer said.

"We’ll just have to wait and see, I’ll just get my head down and do my best to get back."