Alex MacDonald’s return to action for Gillingham was the highlight of Saturday’s game at Dover for manager Neil Harris.

His appearance in the weekend friendly came nine months since he last played for the Gills, in a away game at Wycombe on November 9.

• Striker returns to the Gills

MacDonald, 32, missed most of last season with a knee injury but came on as a substitute for Gillingham at Dover with an hour gone.

“Seeing Macca on the football pitch again was probably the real positive of the day,” said Harris, following the 2-0 defeat.

“It has been tough for him, he has a long way to go, he is still physically a long way off where he wants to be at but he has completed most of the sessions, we are managing his sessions and his work-load to the best we can.

“It was just great to see him back out there for 30 minutes, it will give him real confidence in his own ability to be able to complete minutes.”

The medical team will be taking a cautious approach with the midfielder, however, which means he may not take part in Gillingham’s next friendly, a midweek training ground match on Wednesday.

“We have to be really careful with him,” said the manager.

“If we can have him involved at the start of the season with minutes in him through August, whether that’s starts or off the bench, then that will be a real bonus for us.”