THE TAPES have barely gone up on the new speedway season and Swindon Robins boss Alun Rossiter already faces an injury crisis.

Three of his riders – including his top two, Adrian Miedzinski and Troy Batchelor, failed to finish the rescheduled opening fixture of the season against champions Poole at the Abbey Stadium on Monday.

The meeting was abandoned with two races still remaining as there was not enough ambulance cover at the track after the three stricken riders – the other was reserve Lewis Rose – had been taken to the Great Western Hospital.

Poole led 47-33 at the time and all four points were awarded to the visitors.

Rossiter faces the prospect of finding a long-term replacement for Miedzinski, who underwent surgery in Bristol on Tuesday for what his boss described as an 'horrfic injury'. Miedzinski broke three fingers and suffered a severe laceration after catching his hand in a back wheel.

Former Robins No.1 Peter Kildemand, who had been put on standby in the event of Batchelor's visa issues failing to be resolved in time for the start of the season, would be a popular choice among fans as a substitute.

Neither Batchelor nor Rose are certain to be fit to appear in the back-to-back meetings with Lakeside on Thursday and Friday.

Batchelor has no broken bones but he suffered mild concussion and rib injuries and has been advised to rest. Rose's X-rays also revealed no broken bones but he has been advised to keep his injured ankle elevated for a few days. Both were released from hospital.

Rossiter said: “Adrian is in a lot of pain and it is a horrific injury. We wish him all the very best.

“I was in a state of shock when I came away from the hospital at midnight, I couldn’t quite believe what happened.

“It was such a shame because it was a cracking day of racing with both ourselves and Poole fully committed, giving it everything.

“I would like to thank the fans for coming out and supporting us in big numbers and this is the time when we need them again on Thursday. Your team needs you!

“I’m working on replacements, both for Thursday and certainly one longer term. It’s going to be a busy time for me now and will be spending much of it on the phone.”

The eventful clash with Poole started to go wrong as early as heat three when home rider Nick Morris impetuously tried to take Dakota North but came down leading to his exclusion.

Home skipper Batchelor, on his first ride, found himself involved in a tangle with Maciej Janowski in the rerun and he was withdrawn from the meeting with concussion and taken to hospital. The Pirates took the heat 5-1 to grab a 10-8 lead.

By now the Robins were struggling with Miedzinski finishing last on his opening two rides despite gating well. However, he was leading heat 13 before mysteriously coming off his bike on the second lap, yet the referee Dave Robinson prematurely awarded the race rather than order a rerun.

In the previous race newcomer Rose came off at the pit bend bringing down Poole’s Kyle Newman.

Ironically with 2012 world champion Chris Holder fairly subdued throughout the fixture it was left to former Robins Kacper Gomolski, Maciej Janowski and Dakota North to inflict much of the damage.

It has been the worse possible start to the season for Miedzinski.

On Good Friday he was up at 4am in order to catch a plane to Heathrow with Polish team-mate Grzegorz Zengota. From there they were picked up for the two-hour journey to Poole only to find that the morning meeting had been rained off.

They travelled on to Blunsdon for the afternoon fixture only for that to be called off 90 minutes before the start.

Now he faces a long period on the sidelines.

SWINDON 33: Nick Morris 9+1, Kyle Howarth 8, Grzegorz Zengota 7+1, Lewis Rose 5+1, Charles Wright 2, Adrian Miedzinski 2, T.Batchelor 0.

POOLE 47: Kyle Newman 10+1, Kacper Gomolski 8+1, Maciej Janowski 8+1, Josh Grajczonek 7+1, Chris Holder 7, Dakota North 5+1, Paul Starke 2+1.

Abandoned after 13 heats – no medical cover – result will stand Elite League points: Swindon 0 Poole 4.

PURTON’S Darryl Ritchings was due to return to competitive action last Sunday at Mildenhall in suffolk for the British U21 semi final. However, three riders pulled out after crashes including 2014 Robin Nathan Greaves who had won his first race.

After a track walk and consultation with his Coventry Storm team manager, Ritchings decided not to start the meeting.

Given the horrendous injuries he received riding for the Robins in April 2014, the decision was not surprising and he will be looking forward to debuting for his new side away to Cradley on Wednesday night.