WEYMOUTH Doonan Wildcat Jon Armstrong will find out whether he will be able to race again this season on June 22 when he undergoes a knee arthroscopy.

The Mighty Midget has not been on a bike since withdrawing from a challenge meeting on the Isle of Wight on April 21 when he suffered a recurrence of the injury that kept him out of action for much of last summer.

The horrendous collision came in the 2008 Conference Pairs at the Wessex Bus Raceway when he broke his leg after hitting the dirt along with Jerran Hart, following a fall by ex-team-mate Jay Herne, Armstrong had hoped to put that nightmare behind him at the start of this season but he now faces an anxious wait to see the full extent of the damage that could well put his speedway career under threat.

He said: “If anything my knee is getting worse. I am in the gym three times a week at the moment trying to build it up again.

“The surgeon has told me that I need to strengthen it as much as possible as that will help me recover from any operation a lot quicker.

“I am booked in two weeks on Monday to have a camera put in my knee which will allow them to finally diagnose the problem.

“The surgeon has said it could be cruciate ligament damage or it could be cartilage. If it is cartilage they will do what is needed there and then, and I could be back within five or six weeks of surgery. But if it is the cruciate it will take a much more complicated operation and I will have to forget racing again this year.”

The Wildcats will take on the Plymouth Devils at the Wessex Bus Raceway tomorrow night before travelling to Mildenhall on Sunday.

Armstrong added: “I have not been able to get down there yet as my boy has been riding a lot but I will do soon.

“By all accounts the team has been going well. The result at Bournemouth was a bit disappointing as that was a big test but I understand James Cockle had a bit of bad luck on the night which did not help their chances. I am gutted to be missing all of it and to be honest I am well peeved at the moment, particularly as people like Nigel Charlton from Wessex Bus have put money into me. All I can hope is that I am back soon.”