PIRATES reserve Kyle Legault has been sidelined for at least two months and could be out for the rest of the season.

The Canadian champion has suffered complications with the thigh he broke while riding for Birmingham last year.

And he could be about to see his dream of continuing to ride for Poole Castle Cover go up in smoke.

After seeing a specialist at Poole Hospital about his right leg, Legault said: “Basically it will take two to three months to finish healing.

“He doesn’t understand why I’m getting more pain now than I was before, so I need to get a CT scan to get a closer look.

“That will take up to four weeks to organise whereas I could go home to Canada and get one sooner, but there are no guarantees.”

A rod was inserted to help strengthen the leg and to help the healing process last year.

Originally, Legault was going to have it removed at the end of this season, but given the two-to-three month timescale predicted for the healing process with it in place, he admits having it removed now is another option.

Legault said: “I could have the rod removed but that would mean taking six months off from racing and that would write off the year.

“I could take the other option, but if that doesn’t work I may then have a problem getting fit in time for 2010.”

Legault won the Argentinean title over the winter, and said: “The whole idea behind racing in Argentina was to get as race fit as I could in preparation for riding for Poole.

“Poole was my dream move and I wanted to be in the best possible shape I could be in – I believed racing in Argentina would do that.

“Despite what some people have said I haven’t been in constant pain since I returned to action last season.

“I had a little bit of a problem in my very first meeting in Argentina, but that was only because I hadn’t been on a bike in three months.

“I’ve worked extremely hard on my fitness with my personal trainer and also invested a lot of time, effort and money into getting prepared for my career with Poole.

“I’m extremely disappointed all that work and effort hasn’t paid off and it’s hard to sit on the sidelines while the season starts to gather momentum.

“I’d like to talk to the track doctor at Poole, Dr Laura Tompsett, before making a final decision because I still want to ride for the Pirates this year.

“Once she gets all the information from the surgeon she’ll be able to give me a better idea because she has more experience of riders and injuries.”

Pirates chief Matt Ford, already without injured Jason Doyle for a long spell, has indicated he will make two changes to the team before they clash with Eastbourne home and away on Good Friday.