ALUN Rossiter admits he is still not certain if Nick Morris will be fit enough to feature when Swindon Robins return to action tomorrow night.

Morris suffered an ankle injury in the Robins’ last meeting on Saturday, June 4 – a 46-44 success away at Leicester Lions – but has still yet to fully recover after initially requiring crutches following two falls at Beaumont Park.

Swindon have back-to-back matches against Elite League leaders Lakeside Hammers this week, starting on Thursday at the Abbey Stadium, and team manager Rossiter says there is no guarantee that Australian youngster Morris will be on the startline.

“Nick can walk on his foot but he knows that if he tweaks it, he is probably going to have to take more time off afterwards, which nobody wants,” said Rossiter.

“We will give him as much time as he needs to prove himself and have fitness tests right up until the meeting on Thursday to see if he is OK.

“It’s improved a lot but it is still not perfect and the danger is there if he hurts it again. I’ve told him if he doesn’t think he is 100 per cent, I don’t want him to ride.

“It would not be as bad if it was his right foot as he could just rest it but with the left foot, there’s a lot more for it to do and a lot more chances that he could hurt it again.”

Should Morris be unable to race at Blunsdon, the Robins will not book a guest and instead operate rider replacement.

That tactic was used to good effect on the trip to Leicester, where Rohan Tungate sat out with a shoulder problem. Tungate had earlier ridden for Swindon in a home meeting with the Lions two days prior while still nursing that injury.

The Robins were stunned 47-43 by the league’s bottom side that day and Rossiter says he has already had his fingers burned by sending out a battered and bruised line-up.

“We will go RR if Nick isn’t right and let everyone else have a ride,” added Rossiter, who is optimistic that Tungate is now back to full health.

“We can’t afford to carry him if he is holding back a bit, we got caught out with Rohan before doing that and I am not doing that again.

“Rohan raced in France at the weekend so it looks like he is on the mend. I haven’t caught up with him in a while but I would think he would be OK for Thursday.”