7:00am Thursday 1st May 2008
By Phil Chard
KAROL Zabik's Pirates future hangs in the balance after he broke two ribs and sustained a suspected broken shoulder blade in a crash in Sweden.
The Pole, who could be sidelined for a month, missed his fifth Poole meeting of the season last night following his spill at MasarnaAvesta while riding for Vetlanda on Tuesday.
Speaking last night, Poole chief Matt Ford said: "It happened in Karol's second ride. He was leading and just entering the straight to go across the line when he fell off.
"I'm told it was a big crash. Davey Watt was in the same race and was just behind Karol when it happened.
"We're waiting for more details from Karol about his injuries. That's all I know at the moment."
Zabik has now missed five out of Pirates' 15 matches this term and his team place is under serious threat, particularly as he has already suffered three nasty crashes in Poole's colours.
Six-man Pirates dug deep to win handsomely at home last night, but they have yet to win on their travels, where they really do need a full complement of seven riders to be at their best to beat the best.
With Zbigniew Suchecki out for three months with a broken thigh, it's imperative Poole get back to full strength soon, unless they could find themselves out of the championship chase, despite their Craven Shield success.
Their riders have performed heroics to cover for injuries, with four men scoring 45 points at Coventry in the league last month clearly demonstrating that.
But Bjarne Pedersen, Chris Holder, Davey Watt, Freddie Eriksson and a still far from fully fit Adam Skornicki will not be able to pull it off all the time, particularly against top sides away.
Asked if he had any more thoughts on bringing in a replacement for Suchecki, Ford said: "I'll just hang on to see what happens with Karol to see if we need to make two changes rather than one.
"With the averages changing and Freddie going above Karol it will not be long before we are struggling to replace Karol because he will drop to reserve (on a lower average than his current assessed one of 5.00. Zabik's actual league average after five meetings is 3.64)."
Suchecki, meanwhile, was unable to attend last night's meeting as he was still in Poole Hospital recovering from his crash at Poole nine days ago.
He had hoped to be at Wimborne Road, and hospital staff had given him the go-ahead, but the Polish rider did not feel well enough in the end.
In his absence, a collection for Suchecki was put back until a later date, a good idea as there was a low crowd turnout due to unpredictable weather and the Chelsea-Liverpool clash live on television.
Ford had personally covered a £1,600 bill for an engine Suchecki had just received before his crash to get the collection started.
"I'd still love Pirates fans to dig deep for Zibi when we do hold it," said Ford.
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