Edinburgh Monarchs No.1 Dan Thompson out with broken collarbone
The Edinburgh Monarchs have been dealt a major blow after it was confirmed No.1 Dan Thompson has broken his collarbone.
Just 24 hours after the Capital septet's 49-41 victory over arch-rivals the Glasgow Tigers at Ashfield on Sunday, a triumph that sealed qualification to the BSN Series semi-finals, Thompson was racing for his Premiership club the Leicester Lions when he crashed in his fourth and final race of the evening, landing heavily on his shoulder.
The 22-year-old Englishman was taken to hospital to be checked over where x-rays confirmed a broken collarbone.
A marquee signing over the winter, Thompson has been in great early-season form for the Monarchs, scoring 11 at Glasgow on Sunday.
Co-promoters Alex Harkess and John Campbell have moved quickly to secure the services of Berwick's Nick Morris for Friday's Championship opener against the Workington Comets.
A Monarchs statement read: "The length of time the injury will take to heal is currently unknown but will certainly put Dan out of action for Monarchs upcoming matches this Friday at home against Workington, as well as next week's away and home matches against Oxford.
"Dan will seek specialist treatment in the coming days to boost his recovery and shorten the length of time he will be on the sidelines.
"This injury is a disappointing blow with everyone at Monarchs thoroughly enjoying watching Dan in action for the club. Everyone wishes Dan well for a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back as soon as possible.
"For this Friday's home match against Workington, Monarchs have lined up Nick Morris to guest in place of Dan."
Thompson said: "I’m absolutely gutted. I’ll need some time to recover properly. At this stage there’s no clear timescale on a return. Thank you to everyone for the kind messages and support – it really means a lot.”