COVENTRY Bees are sweating over the availability of inspirational skipper Chris Harris ahead of Friday’s crunch Elite League play-off semi-final against Poole.
Harris, or ‘Bomber’ as he more affectionately know to supporters, was involved in a heavy crash in Poland on Sunday and returned to the UK with ankle, wrist and elbow injuries.
He saw a specialist earlier this week and has undergone intensive physio but he remains doubtful for Coventry’s biggest meeting of the season.
“It was a big crash on the first bend with me, Sebastian Ulamek and Michal Szczepaniak, and we all went straight into the fence together,” said Harris.
“Me and Seb were actually under the fence for a time and they had the ambulance out but we did manage to walk away.
“I carried on in the meeting, it was an important one for the club, but it was afterwards when the adrenaline had eased that I really felt the pain, and I’ve got a swollen wrist and ankle.
“I’ve got to get plenty of treatment over the next few days, I really want to be fit for Friday but I’ll have to see what the specialist says.”
Monday’s initial meeting with Poole was cancelled due to the adverse weather conditions which has worked in the Bees’ favour.
But boss Gary Havelock said Harris would be a big loss if he were to miss out on Friday.
He added: “You’re always worried about receiving a call saying one of your riders has crashed in another meeting, and now we have to wait and see with Bomber.
“He’s massive to our team, and being without him is not really something I want to think about. It’s a huge concern for us.
“I will be looking at our options, of course, but we already know how limited they are and at the moment we just have to keep our fingers crossed.”
One rider already confirmed to miss out is Joonas Kylmakorpi who will be replaced by Freddie Lindgren who is booked in to guest.
