COLCHESTER United will have to play out of their skins to breach Fort Knox this afternoon.

COLCHESTER United will have to play out of their skins to breach Fort Knox this afternoon.

Hosts Sheffield Wednesday boast an unblemished record at Hillsborough, with six wins out of six this season.

Rochdale, Notts County, Scunthorpe, MK Dons, Exeter and Chesterfield have all tried and failed to escape with any points from the Wednesday garrison.

And few pundits will give the U’s a chance of gate-crashing the Owls nest, especially as John Ward’s men are defensively crippled by injuries and suspension.

Both first choice centre-halves will be missing, due to Magnus Okuonghae’s one-match suspension and Pat Baldwin’s fractured toe, and senior back-up centre-half Matt Heath is also a doubt with an ankle problem.

Heath will face a fitness test, having only returned to training on Thursday.

There is therefore a distinct possibility that specialist full-back John White, and the inexperienced Tom Eastman, who celebrated his 20th birthday yesterday, will partner each other at the heart of the defence.

They can expect a busy afternoon.