Lakeside Hammers Number 1, Andreas Jonsson, received the news he and the Club did not want to hear late on Tuesday. Having felt confident of a quick return to Hammers action, the Swedish ace saw evidence of the effects of his high speed crash at Belle Vue on Monday night as the specialist x-rays revealed two broken fingers in the left hand and a further broken bone in the right hand, close to the wrist. Each of the injuries may possibly require operations to correct, and a further, conclusive examination will be carried out this morning (Wednesday) to ascertain the exact procedure required.
The net result will see AJ out for a minimum of two weeks and possibly more.
"It's terrible news," said Jonsson. "I was really enjoying myself riding for the Hammers and I felt I was moving into a rich vein of form. Everything will be knocked back a while now, but I am determined to get back in the saddle in the UK as quickly as possible and carry on scoring as best I can." The Swedish Champion has been wowing the Hammers faithful with some scintillating riding in the opening meetings of the 2008 season, including a perfect maximum last week, equalling his own track record in the process. The accident occurred after picking up an unexpected patch of grip on the unpredictable Belle Vue track made perilous by the stock car activity and large amount of rain, resulting in AJ running into the back of his team mate, Leigh Lanham.
Also badly shaken and battered by the impact, Leigh's prospects look somewhat better, and an announcement regarding this week's meetings with the Peterborough Panthers and Swindon Robins is now expected early Thursday morning.
Team boss, Jon Cook, commented, "It's a cruel stroke of bad luck, but these things happen in Speedway and it's how we respond as a Club and a team that will decide how we are judged come the end of the season. Both AJ and Leigh have been in excellent form, and whilst I'm thrilled at the prospect of having Leigh back, potentially, for Thursday, to lose your number 1 rider is always a blow. To that end we have booked Davey Watt as a guest rider for these two meetings. He is very popular with the Hammers fans and we know he can do a job for us."
