LEICESTER will be forced into two changes for Monday’s vital ROWE Motor Oil Premiership play-off semi-final trip to Ipswich.
The Watling JCB Lions will be without both Ryan Douglas and Craig Cook at Foxhall, although Douglas aims to be back for the second leg next Thursday.
The Australian has been struggling with a burn to his arm which has now become infected, and he is currently in hospital in an attempt to resolve the issue.
He will miss upcoming fixtures in Poland and Sweden over the coming days in addition to the Lions’ match at Ipswich, and rider replacement will be in operation on Monday.
All members of the Lions team are eligible to take one of his outings.
Cook suffered a dislocated shoulder in his crash in Heat 2 last night and although a hospital trip enabled the shoulder to be put back in place, he still has very limited movement.
He has been ruled out of both legs of the semi-final, and the Lions have been quick to book Lewis Kerr to guest in both meetings.
Kerr will line up alongside Sam Hagon with the Lions’ Rising Star fit to return after missing meetings this week after a recent crash at Poole.
The Ipswich team features guest appearances for Jan Kvech, Tom Brennan and Ashton Boughen in place of Jason Doyle, Emil Sayfutdinov and Jordan Jenkins.