POOLE Pirates team boss Neil Middleditch insists King’s Lynn have “an ample replacement” for crocked reserve Lewis Kerr ahead of Monday’s second-leg showdown.

His place for the return meeting at Wimborne Road will be taken by Somerset’s Charles Wright, who has guested for Poole with distinction on three occasions in 2014.

Kerr, ranked second in the fast track grade list, suffered a broken wrist in the Elite League play-off semi-final first leg and was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the season.

Wright totalled nine points against visitors Swindon in April and followed that up with eight and seven-point hauls at Belle Vue and Wolverhampton respectively.

And Middleditch says the 25-year-old has the ability to cause significant problems for the defending champions, who hold a 45-44 advantage from the first leg.

He told the Daily Echo: “King’s Lynn have got Charles Wright coming into their team and he is an ample replacement.

“Maybe it’s a psychological blow for King’s Lynn to lose Lewis but it’s not over till it’s over.

“Rob Lyon (Stars boss) has picked Charles for the reason that he is very good round Poole and he is certainly a good replacement.

“Everybody has put us in the final already but King’s Lynn have already won here this season and it’s a case of hold your horses until the end of Monday night.

“It’s only half-time and anything can happen in the second half. We’ve got to focus on the job in hand, get a nice lead and try and hold it.”

Whether Pirates use a guest or rider replacement in the absence of suspended skipper Darcy Ward is yet to be finalised, but Middleditch admitted a decision was close.

He added: “Matt (Ford, promoter) and I have mulled over a couple of ideas in the last couple of days but there’s a limited amount of riders out there who are willing to do it or available.

“We’ve got a couple of options open to us but we will know in the next few days.”

Meanwhile, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) has confirmed that Ward’s place in the season-ending Grand Prix in Torun will be taken by fellow Pirate Maciej Janowski.

The Polish ace earned his place in the 2015 series with a fourth-placed finish in the Grand Prix Challenge and will get a sneak preview of what to expect next year in his homeland.

Ward is currently suspended from all speedway after failing an alcohol test prior to the Latvian Grand Prix in August.

An FIM spokesman yesterday told the Daily Echo that the case was likely to be judged by the FIM International Disciplinary Court towards the end of this month or in early November.