MICHAL Kapicka has been axed from the Swindon Wildcats line-up after head coach Ryan Aldridge acted to trim down the import section of his roster.

Matias Perkkio’s return to fitness on Sunday meant the Link Centre head coach had five imports at his disposal for the clash against visiting Milton Keynes, which Swindon lost 5-2.

Aldridge took the decision to select forwards Jonas Hoog, Kapicka and Perkkio alongside D-man Jan Melichar, leaving recent signing Tomas Fojtik on the sidelines, as EPL teams are only permitted to include four imports in their matchnight squads.

The head coach told the Advertiser afterwards that one of the five imports would be released, and Kapicka is the man who has left the Link Centre for good.

The 26-year old former Mulhouse player joined the Wildcats at the start of the season and made 19 appearances, scoring 11 goals and adding 11 assists for 22 points in total.

Aldridge wanted to strike a balance in his side and felt releasing the Czech was the best solution.

“It's always tough to make this kind of decision,” he said.

“We need to be better as a team and for that something has to change, having Tomas (Fojtik) in the line-up gives us five imports and we can't carry that for long.

“I wish Kaps all the best for the future. He leaves the club with our best wishes and we’d like to thank him for all of his efforts in a Wildcats shirt.”

Aldridge's decision means Hoog, Perkkio, Melichar and Fojtik can all breathe easy in the knowledge that their roles in the team are safe.

Fojtik was left out of the line-up for the defeat to Milton Keynes, and Aldridge explained why he decided to leave the giant D-man out.

“We were two British forwards short (in Nicky Watt and Jamie Hayes), so for us to go with six D and short on the forward end just didn’t make sense,” he said. “Looking at it now having made three defensive errors, maybe having two defensive imports in the line-up would have benefited us.

Wildcats are due to play a rare midweek game tonight, as they make the trip to Sheffield (7.30pm).