by Adam Summers - Dorset Echo

TIM Webster's season "is basically over" according to Weymouth Doonan Wildcats' manager Jem Dicken. The former Newport Maverick sustained a broken ankle in a collision during heat 11 of Saturday's 54-39 Conference League victory over the Boston Barracudas at the Wessex Stadium and he has since been told he faces around two months on the sidelines.

Dicken said: "It was a horrible collision and it is such a shame for Tim and the team because he has been in really good form. They were initially going to operate over the weekend but in the end they decided not to and now he will go to a fracture clinic to see what can be done. The plaster that has been put on goes right up to his knee and it looks like his season is basically over now. He has been told he will not be back for six to nine weeks and it is a big blow."

Fortunately, the Wildcats signed Matt Wright as cover last week and he will now take the vacant reserve berth. The ex-Boston rider was due to face his former club in the return leg at Saddlebow Road on Sunday but a waterlogged track caused the meeting to be postponed much to the disappointment of Dicken.

He added: "Matt has been riding for Mildenhall in the Premier League and recently he asked if he could come down here. We had a space in the squad so we signed him last week and with what has happened to Tim, I am glad we did. He fits in just right in terms of grading and he was due to ride at Boston on Sunday but the meeting had to be called off due to the weather. I had just reached Cambridge when I got the call saying it could not go ahead but some of the lads were already there. It was a bit disappointing to say the least. Apparently there was thunder and lightning there during the afternoon but they did not postpone it until two-and-a-half hours before. As most of the riders were there they might as well have left it a bit later to see if it eased off. It was particularly frustrating because we felt quite confident of going up there and getting something even though they thumped Plymouth the other night."

The meeting has not yet been rescheduled so the Wildcats will now turn their attentions to this coming Saturday when they take on the Redcar Cubs at the Wessex Stadium. The Cubs have only featured in five league meetings so far this season but they still remain just two spots below Weymouth who currently occupy the last play-off berth having only raced in six fixtures themselves.