WEYMOUTH Doonan Wildcats will use the rider-replacement facility in this weekend’s Devon & Dorset Trophy to fill the void left by skipper Jon Armstrong.

The Mighty Midget pulled out of Tuesday night’s 51-42 Challenge meeting defeat at the Isle of the Wight Islanders after injuring his knee.

Armstrong says his knee still lacks strength following the broken leg he sustained last May and will today see a physio to assess the damage.

He said: “My knee just isn’t ready yet because it’s not strong enough. I’m going to see the physio and see what he says about it and then take it from there. I’ve no idea how long it will take to come back, it could be two weeks or it could be six weeks.

“I’ve done three meetings this year and I’ve had to pull out of two of them, and I can’t keep doing that. Hopefully I’ll come back and still be in the thick of things as I need to be from a financial perspective as well. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

The Wildcats visit current holders of the Devon & Dorset Trophy, the Ply-mouth Devils, this evening for the first leg of the competition before returning to the Wessex Bus Raceway for tomorrow night’s decider (7.15pm).

Armstrong’s position will be filled by the rider-replacement facility but there is a change at number five due to Lee Smart’s participation in the British Under-21 Championship at Lakeside.

Mildenhall’s Barrie Evans will guest to cover Smart’s absence but the Wildcat is expected to line-up for the return meeting at Weymouth tomorrow.

Team manager Jem Dicken said: “Once Jon’s seen the physio we’ll look at the situation more but there is a lack of available riders right now so we might have to use rider replacement until Jon comes back.”

n Weymouth’s academy side – the Weymouth Wizards – will be racing for the first time tonight at Plymouth, after the main event.