TIGERS have suffered a blow with Mario Hausl ruled out for six weeks due to a back injury.
The Speedway of Nations 2 gold medallist crashed in Denmark last week sustaining misaligned lumbar vertebrae L4 and L5. He also has a kidney stone issue.
Hausl, 19, has shown great promise at times during his debut campaign in the UK but is now likely to miss the rest of the season.
He said: “A tough time – now it’s time to be patient. Unfortunately, I have a 6-week forced break starting from yesterday.
“After an injury and a heart muscle strain, I now need to give my body the necessary time to recover.
“Additionally, I am currently dealing with a kidney stone. The examinations also revealed that my lumbar vertebrae L4 and L5 are misaligned or not optimally aligned, which in turn causes discomfort in the lower back.
“For me as a speedway driver, it is of course extremely bitter, not being able to stand on the bike right now. “Nevertheless, my health comes first. Now it’s time to consistently push through the next 6 weeks, rebuild my body, and do everything to come back stronger.
“Now it’s time to: stay patient, get healthy, and then go full throttle again.
“Thanks to everyone who supports me and stands behind me during this time. The comeback will start.”
The Allied Vehicles Tigers team boss Cami Brown admits it’s a cruel blow.
He added: “First and foremost we wish Mario a full and speedy recovery, he will continue to have our support from the club.
“This is not the sort of injury you rush, so he will need to take time to heal properly.”
With the side now having completed 75 per cent of their Cab Direct Championship fixtures, options are limited in Hausl’s absence.
Brown said: “The situation is simple that we cannot sign a replacement now so we’ll be forced to use guests.
“It’s very much the same situation as we have with replacing Kyle Howarth. We have spoken to a great deal of riders all over Europe. But all of them have commitments with other clubs and aren’t available.
“It’s not ideal in any way at all but we’ll have to battle on with the use of guests in the best possible way.”