Swansea City's season is back under way after the mid-season break for the World Cup but for their loan-out players, the action never stopped.
Morgan Whittaker, Kyle Joseph, Jordon Garrick, Lewis Webb and Dan Williams - at Plymouth Argyle, Oxford United, Lincoln City, Aberystwyth Town and TNS respectively - didn't pause for the tournament in Qatar and ploughed on regardless.
Let's catch up with them and see how they are getting on...
Morgan Whittaker
The headline act. Despite missing a penalty at the weekend for the Pilgrims, Whittaker has been in stellar form at Home Park. He's been earning absolutely rave reviews too.
The 21-year-old has seven goals to his name right now in 27 appearances in all competitions but it is his all-round play that garners most appreciation.
Steven Schumacher said last week he's delighted with all his loan players and says he expects them to stay all season.
He said: "They are all happy with how they are playing. We said in July and August we were going to help them and we think that we have, and the lads have contributed really well.
"There is no plans for them to go back to parent clubs or go elsewhere, so that's all good."
Ipswich Town have fluttered their eyelids at the former Derby County man, who our colleagues at PlymouthLive described as "one of the best players in League One", while Sky called him the division's "hottest property".
He's told Russell Martin where he wants to play, too, saying his future is at No.10.
"I'm playing as a No 10, which I like because if I'm not getting on the ball or I'm not getting in the game, I have that licence to go and find it," he said.
"We don't just have to stay in one position, but everyone in the team still knows their jobs and responsibilities. Everyone is contributing. As a No 10, you are in the game a lot more and, as a result of that, you just enjoy it more. I definitely want to play in this position in future. It's where I can get the ball the most and create things.
"I'm confident on the ball and feel I'm capable of creating things each game. Just knowing you can do that and carry it forward helps with the games coming up. It's massive."
Swansea have a plethora of players in that position - whether Whittaker features in Martin's long-term plans remains to be seen. But with three years left on his contract, he will be a valuable commodity should Swansea look to cash in.
Kyle Joseph
It has been the opposite story for Kyle Joseph at Oxford United, unfortunately.
The 21-year-old has got 19 appearances under his belt since the summer, but injury has massively curtailed his progress at the Kassam Stadium.
He was stretchered off with an ankle injury at the start of the November in the 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury, with manager Karl Robinson saying at the time: “He doesn’t need an operation, so he’s probably about eight weeks away from back playing.
“It’s a 12-week injury and he’s four weeks into that.”
The striker is around a month away from returning to the fray for The U's and he'll be hoping to add to his six goals in all competitions.
He also has three years to run on his Swansea deal.
Jordon Garrick
The winger has played 15 times for The Imps this season, scoring once in the EFL Cup back in August.
Lincoln and Oxford are hovering around lower to mid-table in League One at present. Garrick recently came off the bench in the entertaining 4-2 win against Everton U21 at the LNER Stadium as the Imps progressed to the Papa Johns Trophy quarter-finals.
With Garrick out of contract in SA1 come next summer, it is highly unlikely we will see him in a Swansea shirt again.
Lewis Webb and Dan Williams
Webb joined Aberystwyth Town on loan at the start of the season and got nearly 1,000 minutes under his belt before returning to Swansea for work on an injury he picked up.
His standout performance came against league leaders TNS. While Webb’s Aber would eventually lose that game 2-0, the Wales Under-21 shot-stopper made a string of excellent saves to keep his side in the game.
And speaking of TNS, Williams joined the Cymru Premier outfit and scored his first goal on only his second appearance – a 6-2 home win against Flint Town.
READ MORE:
