"Two years ago, it appeared the Indianapolis Colts had the makings of one of the NFL's outstanding secondaries. Two weeks ago, it appeared it was all about to come together.

Not this year.

Safety Bob Sanders has been placed on injured reserve and will require season-ending surgery to repair a torn biceps, and starting cornerback Kelvin Hayden is expected to miss up to four weeks with a knee injury, the club announced Friday.

With the season-ending knee injury cornerback Marlin Jackson suffered in practice Wednesday, free safety Antoine Bethea will be the only member of the projected starting secondary on the field Sunday when the Houston Texans meet the Colts in a key AFC South game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

"I guess you never know," Bethea said. "We always talk about it, me and Bob, Marlin, Kelvin. We were always saying if we could get on the field together, maybe it would be something special. But then it was always one guy missing, two guys missing. It's just tough.""