PIRATES reserve Kyle Newman sustained a ruptured thigh muscle in a crash at Peterborough last night, an X-ray has confirmed.

The Poole-born youngster was riding for Plymouth in the Premier League Cup when he fell in heat 12 while trying to pass Ales Dryml at the East of England Showground.

Two sets of X-rays were carried out yesterday and today respectively, with the second revealing the thigh problem, although Newman escaped without any broken bones.

Pirates promoter Matt Ford said: “Kyle doesn’t really know how long he will be out. It could be that if everything went well, he could be back in a week or two, but who knows at the moment?

“We’ve got to wait until the muscle stops bleeding and when that happens they can reassess it.

“At this point in time he’s going to be out indefinitely but at this point in time, we really don’t know how long that will be.

“We’ve got to hope we can get him back as soon as we possibly can.

“From what I understand it’s not going to be a long-term injury but Kyle might be best-advised to wait that extra week or two to make sure he is fully fit."

Fast Track rider Newman has been in superb form in the opening two meetings of the Elite League campaign.

Pirates are already contending with the absence of number one Darcy Ward, sidelined due to injuries sustained in the New Zealand Grand Prix.

He was replaced by club asset Chris Holder for a month-long temporary spell on Monday.