Last updated 10:31, Friday, 03 October 2008

WORKINGTON Comets tonight begin the biggest few weeks in the outfit’s history as they seek their first-ever seven-man triumph.

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GUTTED: Kauko Nieminen

But the hunt for the Knockout Cup and the Young Shield has got off to the worst possible start with the loss of skipper Kauko Nieminen.

The Finn broke his collarbone on Monday riding in an Elite League match. He is definitely unavailable for this weekend’s double-header against Scunthorpe in the Young Shield and will miss next Saturday’s Knockout final against Somerset.

And it looks certain that Nieminen won’t race again this season. He plans to go to Finland on Sunday for an appointment with the surgeon who has operated on his shoulder before.

Kauko told Times & Star Sport: “I believe my season is over and I expect the specialist to confirm that.

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

“I broke the same collarbone 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 okay.

“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 bike in time he will stay in Finland for the winter – although he will fly back for the Comets’ presentation night on November 14.

Comets will use rider replacement for Nieminen which means his four programmed rides will be taken by different members of the team – Tomas Topinka, Carl Stonehewer, Joe Haines and probably Charles Wright.

Topinka is riding as a guest for Daniel Nermark, another hurt rider in an appalling season for injuries for Comets.

Nieminen’s absence is a massive blow as he can be almost guaranteed to score 11 or 12 points.

The Young Shield is for teams which finish fifth to 12th in the Premier League. Comets start their campaign at Scunthorpe tonight and then entertain the Lincolnshire side at Derwent Park tomorrow night.

Scunthorpe will be looking for eight to 10 points tonight.

Co-promoter Kenny Smith said: “Eight to 10 points at our place would be good I reckon. We’ve done well at Workington already this season so that would give us a chance.

“If we don’t beat the Comets that will be our last competitive meeting of the season so we’ll be in there trying because we want to keep it going.”

Scunthorpe had gone through September without a Premier League win since August 29 but last week beat Reading Racers.

Scunthorpe do not have a rider in the top 25 of the averages but Richard Hall, Carl Wilkinson and Magnus Karlsson all scored well against Reading last Friday and will be a threat.

The two league matches between the Comets and Scunthorpe were in May and if that had been the Shield tie Workington would have won by 11 points. They lost 47-43 at Scunthorpe and won 54-39 at Derwent Park.

Workington’s Carl Stonehewer finished third on Sunday in the Ashfield Classic, an annual individual event at Glasgow.

Despite a fall in his last programmed ride, Stonehewer made it through to the semi-final on the back of his nine points which were made up of a win and three seconds.

James Grieves eventually won the trophy and £1,000 first prize money, ahead of Elite League rider Rory Schlein, with Stonehewer third and Parker in fourth.