Joe Ledley has urged Cardiff City's stars to get a result against Reading on Saturday to cheer up injured team-mate Gavin Rae.
Midfielder Rae is out for the season after rupturing a tendon, and Joe said: "It's bad news about Gavin - he's been a key player for us in midfield. It's a big loss and he'll be gutted. Hopefully we can go out there and get a result for him."
Joe also paid tribute to the club medical staff who speeded up his return to the side after he had operations on both hips. "They've been brilliant to me and have looked after me really well and I've just got my head down and trained really hard to get back as soon as I can and help the boys secure a play-off place. We're in a great position to do that.
"Swansea was a great game to come back in, especially coming on at 1-1 and then getting a 2-1 win. Everyone at the club, especially the Cardiff boys, has a look at our fixtures at the start of the season to see when the Swansea game is. It was a great feeling for the players and for the fans. You can't beat a comeback like that against Swansea for the Cardiff fans and they gave me a great reception as well. I was very happy with it.
"The last five or ten minutes at Forest were a battle, but it was great to be back. I felt a bit stiff for a day or two after the match but I'm feeling fresh now and the fitter I get, the sharper I'll be. It's going to take a while - I can't expect to come in and be as sharp as I was after playing just one whole game."
Joe came back into a City side on a run of five wins and a draw in seven games, and he said: "We've played three teams in the top six and got seven points out of nine which is a great achievement for us and I'm looking forward to Saturday.
"As far as last season is concerned, you've got to learn from your mistakes in football and that's what we've got to do this year. We have the players and we a strong team, hard to beat.
"There's still a doubt about the play-offs because we're not certain of our place, but if we can get three points on Saturday, we'll be in a good position. If you go through the team, we're a solid side who attack and defend well and we've proved that with our goal difference. There's passion in the team - we all want to go out there and win. We're fourth and we deserve to be where we are. We've done well this season."
Joe singled out striker Simon Church as Reading's danger man, saying: "He's a good player. I've played with him for Wales and his commitment is 100 per cent, he's quick and his movement is great. He's going to be a threat, and we'll have to keep an eye on him."
