Last updated 13:03, Friday, 03 October 2008

Workington Comets' injured skipper Kauko Nieminen flies home to Finland on Sunday for an appointment with the surgeon who has operated on his shoulder before.

Nieminen broke his collar-bone at Lakeside on Monday, riding in an Elite League match, which in effect ruled him out for the rest of the season.

He will miss Workington’s Young Shield clash with Scunthorpe Scorpions tonight and Saturday and also the Knockout Cup final against Somerset the following Saturday.

Kauko said: “In my own mind I believe my season is over and I expect the specialist to confirm that when I see him on Monday.

“He operated on my shoulder two years ago and I will let him have a look at the X-ray pictures from my collar-bone injury.

“I broke the same collar-bone riding for Glasgow at the end of the 2006 season and I had the operation in Finland on the other shoulder soon afterwards.

“To be honest words can’t express how I feel about it. I was so looking forward to the climax of the season and I’m gutted about the injury.

“It was just one of those things. The back of my bike seemed to lift and I was thrown off. I knew right away that I had broken it. Perhaps if the track hadn’t been so slick it wouldn’t have happened that way and I would have got up ok.

“I will be at Derwent Park on Saturday to support the guys and I just hope we can still do it.”

If, as expected, Nieminen is told he won’t be able to get on a back in time he says he will stay in Finland for the winter – although he will fly back for the Comets annual presentation night in the Washington Central on November 14.

“As for next season I don’t know what I will be doing yet. I rather hope that doubling-up comes back again and I can ride in the Elite League and the Premier League,” he says.

For tonight's first leg at Scunthorpe Workington will use rider replacement for Nieminen which means everybody in the team is eligible to take one of his four programmed rides. Tomas Topinka again stands in for number one Daniel Nermark as a guest.