Berwick Bandits have suffered a further injury blow after x-rays confirmed that skipper Rory Schlein suffered a fractured neck vertebrae and broken scapula.
The 39-year-old Australian crashed out of Berwick’s 28-62 defeat on Friday night and spent the weekend undergoing hospital tests which confirmed the season-ending injuries.
It is a huge blow to Schlein who was in fine form for the Borders’ side and had been looking forward to competing in Saturday’s British Final in Manchester.
He is the second big scoring Bandit to crash out in the space of a fortnight following the leg and chest injuries suffered by Bastian Borke at Poole.
The Berwick management will now have to decide how best to cover the influential veteran’s absence as they are still within touching distance of a top four place but cannot afford to drop many more points from the remaining half of the season.
Initially they will use Poole’s Zach Cook as a guest for Schlein at Plymouth on Tuesday night.
Cook began his British career at The Coliseum in 2021 and will be joined by another ex-Gladiator, Paul Starke while the battered Bandits also employ rider-replacement for Jye Etheridge who has not recovered from his two crashes at Shielfield against the Scorpions.
Words by Berwick Speedway – Image by Taz McDougall
