Injured skipper Mark Hudson has boosted Cardiff City fans with the news that he could be back in action ahead of schedule.
Central defender Huds had been ruled out until the end of April after an operation on a split tendon in his ankle.
But he said: "The injury is coming on well. Our physio, Sean, thinks it's progressing well - quicker than the timescale I was given.It feels good at the moment.
"Originally, I was told I would be out for 12 weeks, which would have been the very end of April, but I hope to be back a bit quicker than that. If I can get back in mid-April, there will still be a few games to go. I'd like to be part of that and try and push the lads and get us right to where we need to be and have a longer May, which would mean we are in the play-offs.
"I was suffering from a split tendon for a couple of years but it got worse over time and with other bits and bobs going on in the ankle I couldn't carry on. I was having injections and taking painkillers regularly but that's not what you need to do.
"It got to the point where they weren't working and I could feel the injury all the time.
"It was hard to make the decision to have the operation because it meant I would be out for some time. I didn't want to leave the lads and not be a part of it. It's not something I normally do.When I have little niggles I just get on with it. I'm not one to sit and watch. It was a tough decision to have the operation but it was the correct one because I wasn't right at all.
"With the position we were in, it was twice as hard to make the decision but I didn't feel anywhere near full fitness and I wasn't adding what I needed to add to the team."
Huds felt he was hitting his best form just before the injury made it impossible for him to play on. He said: "I was given the captain's armband at the start of the season not long after I'd signed for Cardiff, and there were bound to be some questions about me. I wasn't expecting it - two days before the first game of the season, the gaffer spoke to me and Joe and obviously I wasn't going to turn the opportunity down. It was the manager's decision and I was happy to take the job.
"The captaincy wasn't a burden - it was an honour. I love being captain. Even if I wasn't captain, I'd put in the same effort but it gives you an extra something. It's an amazing feeling to lead the team out.
"We were a new back five and I've been playing alongside Anthony Gerrard, a real character. We get on well and he gives it everything he's got. He's made the step up and has done really well for someone of 23 in his first season in the Championship.
"David Marshall has been brilliant in goal and probably our most consistent performer this season. He's a big presence and still a young man, an international and another one who adds to the dressing room."
"There are things you take for granted that you can't do when you've had an operation and you're on crutches. My wife was away when I had the op, and just to make a cup of tea and take it to the sofa was impossible until I just filled it to halfway.Simple things like walking up and down stairs - there are two flights at the training centre!
"I'm a hopeless spectator. I'm not a man to be sitting on the side watching. I'd been playing constantly for two and a half years before the operation. It's frustrating , especially with where we are in the league. I want to be out there with the lads, and it's a different game watching from the side.
"The original timescale was for me to be out for 12 weeks, which would have been the very end of April but I hope to be back a bit quicker than that. If I can get back in mid-April, there will still be a few games to go. I'd like to be part of that and try and push the lads and get us right to where we need to be and have a longer May - which would mean we are in the play-offs."
