TROY BATCHELOR and Peter Kildemand are expected to line up for the Swindon Robins in Thursday's home clash with Wolverhampton after returning from injury in the Polish Leagues today (Sunday).

The Wolves are led by Swedes Freddie Lindgren and the evergreen Peter Karlsson but a full-strength Robins should have a more comfortable night than of late.

Batchelor scored 11 points, including two wins, as Rybnik went down 48-41 at Bydgoszcz, and Kildemand posted seven points for Rzeszów which enabled them to comfortably overcome Wrocław 52-37.

However, Kildemand's spell as injury cover for Swindon number one Adrian Miedzinski may prove shorter than anticipated if rumours coming out of Poland are close to the truth.

It is believed that Miedzinski, who looked set to be sidelined for several weeks due to a serious hand injury picked up in Swindon's opening fixture this season at Poole, may resume racing in his native country as early as next week, although there is a suggestion he could delay his return to the Robins line-up.

In those circumstances Swindon's facility to use Kildemand may have to be set aside. Additionally at least one Polish club is thinking of fining Polish riders when they are injured in other leagues.

Without injured captain Batchelor and Miedzinski, as well as the latter's temporary replacement Kildemand, the Robins faced two tough back-to-back fixtures last week against King’s Lynn.

To go down 53-40 at Saddlebow Road was not unexpected, particularly as the home side are probably early-season favourites for the Elite League title.

The highlights for the Robins were three fine wins for Nick Morris which included two over home number one Niels-Kristian Iversen.

The following night, Morris continued his good form by leading Grand Prix star Iversen three times as the Robins pulled out all the stops to inflict an impressive 55-37 win over the Stars.

The clash on a smooth and well-prepared Abbey Stadium track was an absolute thriller – track manager Ronnie Russell maintained it was some of the best racing he had seen in his seven years at the Abbey.

The home side had a piece of luck in heat three as Stars captain Rory Schlein pulled out with engine problems when set for a 5-1 with the otherwise disappointing Kenneth Bjerre.

Grzegorz Zengota was the architect of two 5-1 heat wins for Swindon and looks as if he will become a major asset.

Manager Alun Rossiter is concerned, however, that the popular Pole is trying too hard, reflecting the pressure Polish riders are under to perform in their own country.

Regular guest Hans Andersen weighed in with 13 points for the Robins and his two wins over Iversen in heats 13 and 15 played a major role in securing such an emphatic success.

A minor sideshow in the meeting were the duals between new British U21 champion Kyle Howarth (Swindon) and the talented runner-up Robert Lambert (King's Lynn). Honours were even in their two races and hopefully both 17-year-old Lambert and Howarth will break into the national side before too long.

The match ended with a classic 5-1 for Andersen and Morris over Iversen and Lambert in a thrilling and physical closer.

Iversen was devastated in the pits after the race and it was probably a good job that few of those present could understand Danish!

Team manager Alun Rossiter said: “I don’t think you’ll get much better racing than that. It was a great win and I’m over the moon, because it’s been really tough – probably the hardest time I’ve had in my managerial career.

"That was a good all-round team performance and I’m pretty happy. Special praise for Nick (Morris) and I’m pleased that we’ve all dug in deep and won really well.”