Depleted Birmingham miss key two

Birmingham will be without two key riders for the coming weeks after a night of KO Cup misery at Rye House on Saturday.

The BRC Roofing Brummies were racing with a full team for the first time in two months at Hoddesdon, but before the end of heat one, Adam Roynon and Phil Morris had been involved in a crash which saw both men taken to hospital.

Initial word was that Roynon had suffered a broken leg, the severity of which has yet to be confirmed, with Morris dislocating his shoulder.

The Welshman was in his first meeting back from a lengthy injury absence with rib damage, while Roynon had been tipped for further international recognition after a promising performance at last Thursday's British Final to build on his terrific form so far this season.

Skipper Jason Lyons was also in the wars at Rye House, suffering bad cuts in a heat 12 accident which saw three of his fingers become trapped between his bike and that of team-mate James Birkinshaw.

The beaten Brummies are still optimistic that Lyons would be fit to take his place in Wednesday's Premier Trophy semi-final clash with Sheffield. Roynon's absence will be covered by the rider replacement facility, and promoter Graham Drury is now assessing his options to bring in guest replacements for Morris.

He said: "It's unbelievable for that to happen – our first meeting with a full team for two months and it never even lasted one race. We thought last year was bad for injuries but this has been worse.

"All we can do is dust ourselves down and try to put the best team we can together for some very important matches over the next few weeks. I wish Phil and Adam all the best for their recoveries."