STUNNED Kyle Newman faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after the full extent of his shoulder damage was revealed.

The Pirates flier crashed during Friday's Darcy Ward Invitational at Wimborne Road and had hoped to be fit for Wednesday's SGB Premiership Shield second leg against Wolverhampton.

But a trip to the hospital and a physiotherapist today uncovered that Newman had sustained a fractured shoulder blade and three torn muscles, including the rotator cuff.

The Poole-born ace could require surgery but even if he were to avoid going under the knife, the news represents a huge blow to Pirates with the league campaign little more than a week away.

Newman said: "I'm not sure how long this will take to recover from. It has hit me hard but I will pick myself back up and try to get fit.

"I'm praying I don't need surgery on my rotator cuff, that would be a complete disaster. I'm devastated this happened in my first race of the season and it has set me back.

"It's hard to remain positive, all I want to do is go out and race my bike.

"I've worked so hard over the winter to make sure I'm in a good position to have a good season but I'll now need to play catch-up. Hopefully, I'll have more news later this week."

Newman will know if he requires surgery after receiving the result of an MRI scan.