Friday 26th October 2012, 11:36

World champion Chris Holder has suffered a nightmare end to a dream season after sustaining knee ligament damage, plus a broken leg and rib, in an horrific spill at Peterborough on Thursday.

The Poole star was sent flying when Panthers guest Mads Korneliussen crash in front of him and left the Aussie with nowhere to go in heat four of the Knockout Cup semi-final, second leg, which saw Pirates join Coventry in the final with a 94-89 aggregate win.

Holder’s injuries were worse than initially feared and he is expected to undergo surgery in Peterborough.

This is a sour finish to the best season of Holder’s career, which saw him clinch the SGP title in dramatic style at Torun’s Marian Rose Motoarena on October 6.

He also triumphed in the FIM British SGP at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium and the FIM Fogo European SGP in Leszno, as well as winning a fourth Australian Championship and the Elite League Riders title.

Pirates boss Neil Middleditch said: “He has broken his tibia where it joins the knee. He’s having an MRI scan today and then they will decide when and if they operate. He’s pretty sure they’re going to operate, but that’s as much as I know.

“I don’t know whether Chris has torn or snapped his ligaments, but he’ll need a fair few months to recover.

“It may have happened at the end of the season, but there’s no good time to do it. For his season to end like this is cruel.

“I think he’ll bounce back. It was just an unfortunate incident. Mads picked up a grippy patch coming out of turn two and collected Chris along the way.

“This kind of danger is inherent in the business. Chris is a safe rider. He takes risks, but not unnecessary risks. This was nothing to do with him.”

Poole have called up Belle Vue’s Rory Schlein as a guest for Holder for their Knockout Cup Final, first leg at Coventry tonight. Niels-Kristian Iversen will stand in for SGP rival Darcy Ward, whose season has been ended by a head injury.

Pirates are also operating rider replacement for Piotr Pawlicki, who misses the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. Coventry track Richard Hall as a guest for absent pair Adam Roynon and Josef Franc.

Tweet

Speedway Grand Prix Speedway Grand Prix