SWINDON Robins have been dealt an early injury setback after Adam Ellis was diagnosed with a broken scaphoid following last night’s defeat to Belle Vue Aces.

Ellis endured a nightmare home debut for the Robins at the Abbey Stadium, as he failed to score in the narrow 46-44 defeat to Belle Vue.

Ellis came off his bike in heat three, as his bike flipped away from him down the back straight, with the race having already been red flagged for an unsatisfactory start, leaving the 21-year-old on his back in the dirt.

However, that left him unharmed but damaged his bike, which resulted in a second crash of the evening in heat 12, having been in second place at the time.

The young Brit could now face around a month on the sidelines, leaving the Robins operating the rider-replacement facility, at least in the short term, starting at Rye House in the Knock-out Cup on Saturday.

Swindon team manager Alun Rossiter said: “Adam went to hospital after the meeting and normally it takes a while to get the X-ray results, but this time it was clear straightaway that there was a crack.

“Unfortunately, after the first crash when he flipped it, he went out on a bent frame for his final ride, and that’s when he came off again and suffered the injury.

“Potentially, that means he could be looking at over a month out, but we’ll be working with him to hopefully get him back as soon as possible.

“Under the rules this year, we can only use rider-replacement, and at least with Adam third in the averages, it does mean that both Nick (Morris) and David (Bellego) will be able to take one of his rides.

“We’re looking at the options for a short-term replacement but that’s not easy as we have to retain two British riders in the team at all times, and also some have Thursday as their home race-night in the Championship.”