Blow for Edinburgh Monarchs woe after Josh Pickering injury update

Edinburgh Monarchs’ Australian star Josh Pickering could be out of action until the end of this month following his nasty crash during the Championship League defeat at Birmingham Brummies two weeks ago.

Josh Pickering has been told he must rest his shoulder and give it time to heal

It was initially thought Pickering had just sustained shoulder ligament damage in the heat 15 fall when he clipped Brummies star Paco Castagna’s real wheel exiting the second turn and fell heavily on the back straight.

However an MRI scan has revealed he has a cracked shoulder blade, a more serious injury than first thought.

Pickering said: “The doctors have told me I have cracked my shoulder blade and I have some muscle damage as well.

“Thankfully it doesn’t require surgery, but what it does mean is that I have to rest my shoulder and it will heal by itself.”

This is an added blow to Monarchs, who have just signed Swede Victor Palovaara as an injury replacement for crocked teammate Justin Sedgmen who broke two bones in his hand following his awkward tumble against Glasgow Tigers last week. Pickering does not 
know how long he will be sidelined for but insists he won’t rush back until he is fully fit again.

“I’m not sure when I will be back on my bike, I’ll just wait and see how things goes. But I will make sure I take the proper time for my arm to heal.

“That is important to me, so I have not made a specific date for my return yet.

“When I’m back at full strength again I will let Edinburgh know that I’m ready to race once more.

“My shoulder isn’t too bad right now, it’s only when you go to do some things that you get shooting pains right up your arm.

“It just the way things are, speedway riders get knocked down and just get right back up again, it’s part of the job.”

Pickering has started the season off in typical barnstorming style for Monarchs, but he doesn’t remember a thing about the crash at Birmingham’s Perry Barr Stadium. “I was knocked out for three minutes, the next thing I knew I woke up in hospital, it was all a bit of a blur.

“I have watched the crash on video lots of times and I do know what happened.”

Pickering isn’t unduly concerned about a possible long lay-off, adding: “I know when I’m ready to ride again I’ll be back just a strong as ever.”

Monarchs can opt to cover Pickering’s absence by using the rider replacement facility, which means that everybody in the team apart from captain Ricky Wells, would be eligible for an extra ride.