DANIEL Davidsson will have X-rays on his collarbone in Sweden today after sustaining injury in Pirates’ remarkable ‘backs-to-the-wall’ 45-45 home draw with Lakeside last night.

The Poole Castle Cover rider fell hard on the first turn in the opening race on a night of high drama at Wimborne Road when his team-mate Chris Holder also hit the deck hard.

Davidsson, who was inadvertently nudged into the fence by Lee Richardson in a case of first bend bunching, immediately withdrew from the meeting.

Holder, who fell on the third lap while comfortably leading heat three, followed the Swede back into the changing rooms after aggravating a collarbone injury in a nasty fall.

Pirates team manager Neil Middleditch believed neither rider had broken any bones in their spills on a night when his injury-ravaged bottom-of-the-table side dug deep to grab a share of the spoils against the play-off chasers.

Middleditch said last night: “Dan has flown back to Sweden where he will have X-rays tomorrow (Thursday).

“He’s meant to be riding in Sweden tomorrow (Thursday) but he’ll probably have to pull out.

“Dan fell heavily on his left collarbone and we’re hoping it’s not broken.

“To be honest, you can normally tell when it is because you can feel the bone grating, but it looks as though he has just taken a heavy knock.

“That’s what we’re hoping for, and I’ve got my fingers crossed it’s not worse news.”

Holder was making his comeback after three weeks out with a broken collarbone, and Middleditch admitted: “We feared the worst when Chris fell.

“But he came back into the pits and said he had movement, it was just his arm that wasn’t strong enough.

“Chris had a practice in the afternoon and when you are practising you tend to protect it.

“Under racing conditions you can’t do that, and his arm just gave way.

“He hasn’t re-broken his collarbone. He just wasn’t strong enough to hold the bike.”

Pirates travel to Wolves on Monday in the Elite League and host Belle Vue next Wednesday in the Knockout Cup, but it looks like Holder could miss both clashes.

Middleditch said: “Chris just has to rest for a bit longer. I wouldn’t know precisely how long, but maybe a couple more weeks to make sure it’s right.

“When he fell off, my heart just sank. But when I saw the TV replays, it didn’t look so bad.

“Initially we feared he’d re-broken it, but he hadn’t.”

Last night’s televised meeting was held up for about an hour in all as both teams, their managers, the referees, Sky personnel and Ronnie Russell debated whether a wet track was safe to race on.

After extensive re-grading work got the meeting on, the surface was obviously still tricky – clearly demonstrated when Lakeside’s Adam Shields fell on his own while well clear on the third lap of heat seven.

If it hadn’t been a Sky meeting, the league tussle would surely have been called off before it even started.

But Middleditch said: “Dan’s crash was nothing to do with track conditions, and the same goes for Chris’s.

“Dan’s was first bend bunching and Chris’s arm just wasn’t strong enough.”