"As the Gates Turns. And turns.

It's like a serial that runs every Friday, the wonder of whether tight end Antonio Gates will be available to play the upcoming game, and even the fact that Gates practiced for the second time in six weeks Thursday didn't change that. Gates was back in the training room for most of Friday's session before the team departed for Sunday night's matchup with the Colts in Indianapolis.

"It didn't' get worse," said head coach Norv Turner. "He went through the walk-through. It doesn't help him to go two days in a row, so we'll see where he's at Sunday."

The Chargers pretty much have been following the same script every week since mid-October, but Gates' myriad foot issues have kept him from playing the past two games. He wasn't even comfortable enough to test the foot in the hours before Monday night's win over the Denver Broncos."