Nick Robinson - Nicky injured his flexor hip in the match against Leicester, but had a relapse after 25 minutes in the away defeat against Stade Francais. He needs and operation and will be out until mid-April.

Dai Flanagan - Fractured his thumb in the home victory against Stade, now faces 8 weeks on the sidelines, putting him back in the playing squad around mid-February.

Rhys Williams - Has had an operation to repair his torn patella tendon in his knee, fortunately the knee wasn't dislocated as first thought. However, the reality is Rhys will be out until at least late May, though he may well end up missing the remainder of his 10 year testimonial season.

Tom Riley - Has had an operation to repair a torn grain, faces 8-10 weeks out. A March return is realistic.

Rob Sidoli - Injured his shoulder against Glasgow. Out for the season.

Brdley Davies - Injured his shoulder in training, out for the season.

James Goode - Tore his hamstring in his first match since returning from New Zealand playing for Glamorgan. Out for the season.

Marc Stcherbina - Injured his shoulder against the Dragons and had surgery on October 15^th. Expected back between late February and March.

Chris Czekaj - Broke his leg horrifically playing for Wales against Australia, hoping to be back for pre-season 08/09 after a great recovery.

Fortunately, there's returns for Ben Blair, who missed the Stade Match with an irritated hamstring and Nick Macleod, who has missed 6 weeks through injury, and is now the only fit recognised outside half in the squad.

It's fair to say, of all the above injuries, Nicky Robinson and Bradley Davies are the only disastrous ones. Obviously, Nicky is a huge part of this team, and when he plays, we play very well, but also the lack of top standard cover, which we have in other positions, mean we'll miss him more than anyone.

As for Bradley, although he's arguably not first choice (behind Tito and Deiniol), it's the lack of any second row other than Scott Morgan makes me very worries. With him, Goode and Sidoli out, we could really end up in trouble if either of the first two get injuries... which judging by the current situation, is increasingly likely!

Thankfully, Dai Young's forthright must be praised. Apart from fly half, and maybe scrum half, you have to say we really have now got the cover for almost any injury scenario.

The additions to the squad of versatile back Gareth Thomas, as well as the loan signing of Tal Selley are going to prove very wise indeed. Plus, we've been gifted two young players who have quickly established themselves as first team regulars.

I am of course talking about flyer Tom James and the incredibly stable full back, Jamie Roberts. Both players have come into their own, and are in line for Wales call ups in the New Year. James' ability to make something from nothing was demonstrated when he scored a marvellous try against Stade Francais, stepping through French International David Skrella's tackle and putting on the gas to score under the posts. In the same match, Jamie Roberts proved unflappable under the high ball while his break against Bath in the EDF Cup kicked off the best try of the season so far.

So how will the injuries affect the remainder of our season? If the injury list was shortened by a few names, would we have a better chance of winning the Magner's League or being competitive in Europe?

Only time will really tell, but the truth in the matter is that we mustn't use it as an excuse. Rugby is a tough game that's only getting more physical, and injuries are part and parcel of being the best. In fact in all fairness, we can even be impressed with ourselves for doing so well with the massive injury list we have. In seasons past, we've used our injury problems as excuses for our failures, but the fact that we're half way through the season, in a great position for European qualification, 2^nd in the mangers League with a game in hand and finished 2^nd in  tough EDF Cup pool just goes to show how good our squad is, and not just our first XV.

And personally, I think we've got the quality to win something this year, with or without the above players.