PIRATES reserve Kyle Newman has confirmed he will be fit to face Elite League strugglers Leicester on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old has been out of action for the past three weeks due to a nagging groin problem, having originally sustained internal bleeding in the home victory over Coventry at the end of last month.

He battled through the pain barrier to race against the Bees at Brandon 48 hours later and had appeared on course for a full recovery ahead of Poole's trip to Wolves at the beginning of last week.

However, the night before the meeting, Newman was admitted to hospital with an infection which had developed from the original internal haemorrhage, ruling him out further.

Newman, who is due to race in Sunday's British semi-final at Glasgow, admits he is relishing the chance to line up against the Lions at Wimborne Road.

He told the Daily Echo: "Although I now feel okay in myself, I haven't been able to help on the bike because of the risk of infection.

"It's been a long haul to make sure I'm fit and ready because it turned out a lot worse than I had originally thought.

"The doctor told me that in the worst-case scenario the infection had killed people and it scared me a little bit.

"In my case, it wasn't as serious and I was quite happy to put my feet up and recover. Health comes first and it wasn't something I wanted to risk."