The treatment room has been taken over by our defensive department this week with Alan Tate and Marcos Painter setting up camp.

The two defenders have clocked in for treatment with Tatey out for around six weeks with a fractured knee cap, while Marcos has a small tear in the bottom of his foot that will see him sidelined for up to three weeks.

Marcos first felt the injury against NottinghamForest, but he looked to have recovered until he pulled up in training the day before we left for Walsall last Saturday.

Tatey limped off after the Carling Cup game against Walsall just over two weeks ago, but looked to be set for a comeback in the next round against Reading in midweek.

He seemed to be recovering well, but it got to a point where he just couldn't get over the finishing line with regards to his rehabilitation.

As a result we sent him for a MRI scan on Tuesday night where it was revealed he had fractured his knee cap, while there was also a slight chip in the bone.

Early indications are that he'll be out for around six weeks, but knowing Tatey as we do, I know he'll be pushing hard to get better sooner than that.

It's disappointing news, especially as we were hoping to announce a clean bill of health with long-term casualties Owain Tudur Jones (knee) and Darren Way (shin) in the final phases of their rehab.

They have both progressed really well and have even joined in with the rest of the squad on the training ground. Now we are just finalising the last stages of their strengthening and power work so that they can cope with the demands of 90 minutes.

But to see them integrating with the rest of the squad on the training pitch has really put the icing on the cake for everyone.

Our fitness levels were really put to the test against Reading in midweek when the Carling Cup tie went into extra-time. Although the result eventually went against us, I thought fitness wise we handled the test very well.

We switched our training time to 7.45pm the night before to coincide with the evening kick-off and the boys felt it was a worthwhile exercise because they felt a lot stronger.

It's not the first time we've done it, with the main purpose to get the boys' body clocks used to performing for an evening kick-off.

It also gives them a bit more recovery time from the game on Saturday.

There's even an argument for training every day at 3pm instead of in the mornings in preparation for our Saturday afternoon fixtures, but I could write a book on the pros and cons of that one.

And that would really send you to sleep!