NEIL Middleditch was pleased to see Pirates number one Rory Schlein back in action less than three weeks after a nasty spill at Glasgow.

The Aussie charger returned from a leg injury to score nine points from five rides during Poole’s 49-41 Championship Knockout Cup first-leg victory at Plymouth on Tuesday.

Schlein started his night with victories in heats one and five before a difficult end to the meeting for the 2020 British Champion.

But team manager Middleditch was happy to see one of Poole’s experienced heat leaders back on track.

He told the Daily Echo: “It was nice to see Rory back, he wasn’t suffering any problems with his injury – so that’s good to see as well.

“He was good. I gave him heat 15, I said ‘do you want it?’ and he said yeah because he felt good.

“Where they are quite small tracks it is quite physical to ride, so that was a good workout for Rory there.”

A post on Schlein’s Twitter page read: “1st away win for @poolespeedway tonight at @PlymouthGladia1 never seen the place before, the leg is not 100% but happy to hit some fresh air in a few races.

“Tailed off in my last 2 but the sharpness will come.”

Poole’s next contest comes against Kent in the SGB Championship on Wednesday, June 30.