I'm pleased to report that Ferrie Bodde underwent a successful knee operation in London's Lister Hospital on Thursday.

We travelled up earlier in the week for a consultation which went very well.

The consultant went through the video of the incident and the MRI scans and explained to Ferrie and myself in detail the exact procedure for the operation and the recovery process.

The surgeon was really pleased with the way the operation went. Repairing the cruciate ligament was straight forward, while Ferrie also had the tears in his cartilage patched up as well.

He stayed in hospital overnight and will spend the next few weeks rehabilitating back home in Holland with his family.

The physio at Den Haag has agreed to keep a close eye on him, together with the team doctor and physio of the Dutch national team.

They have a specialist centre out in Holland like Lilleshall where he will get the best medical treatment possible. They have welcomed him in with open arms.

Marcos Painter also went to see surgeon Jonathan Webb this week for a consultation after undergoing the same knee operation as Ferrie.

He was very pleased with Marcos's progress and delighted with the range of movement he already has in his knee.

In fairness to Marcos, he has been working really hard on the exercises we've given in and is a regular fixture in the gym.

It seems we've been on top of the list for consultants throughout the country this week as Andrea Orlandi also underwent another MRI scan on his thigh injury.

While he's still got a bit of scar tissue around the muscle, the consultant was happy to give him the go-ahead to step up his training programme next week.

It means he can put a bit more intensity into his training and I'm sure it won't be long before Andrea is back available again.

Joe Allen is in the same boat after the ankle ligament injury he picked up while on loan at Wrexham.

He's already back in training quicker than we expected, but we just want to take our time with him and give him a couple more days before we step up his programme.

Leon Britton missed the trip to Coventry in midweek with the reoccurrence of a back injury.