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good luck to Jack but please correct me if I’m wrong. He is saying he can’t ride the bike correctly with this condition but wants to race in the two biggest meetings in recent memory for the bandits?

Tuesday’s 8th September semi-final 2nd legs line-ups Smederna v Dackarna (45-45) live on Premier Sports 1 Smederna 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dackarna 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Vastervik v Indianerna ( 54-36) Vastervik 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Indianerna 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

The whole thing was all a bit "handbags" wasn't it?.. However, I was surprised how many people came out in support of "St. Bomber"... I then thought a bit more about the reason why, and then it came to me .. Bomber would probably have been voted EVERY team's rider of the year for the past decade or so... He must attend so many end of season presentations each year ...

Taken from Jack Smith`s social media. thought it was about time I gave everyone a proper update on the injury I’ve been dealing with, as there is quite a lot more going on than people probably realise. For a long time now I’ve been struggling with my hip, and despite the pain and the problems it’s causing me, I’ve continued to get on the bike and race whenever I’ve been able to. Unfortunately, I’m nowhere near performing at the level I know I’m capable of at the moment, and there is a very good reason for that. After further investigations, including an MRI on my left hip, I’ve now been diagnosed with cam-type femoro-acetabular impingement (FAI), along with a tear to the superior and anterior parts of the hip labrum. In simple terms, I have an abnormal bony bump where the ball of my hip joins the femur. When I move my hip, particularly into certain positions, that bone catches against the socket. This has caused damage to the labrum inside the joint. I’ve also had an X-ray at Stafford Hospital, which has shown post-traumatic arthritic changes in my hip, adding another problem to an already damaged joint. For anyone who doesn’t ride Speedway, it can probably be difficult to understand just how much movement and control comes from your hips while you’re on the bike. Speedway puts an enormous amount of load and movement through the hips. You’re constantly moving your body, changing position, loading the bike and using your hips to control yourself through the corners. For me, one of the worst parts at the moment is turning into the corners. With the cam impingement, I can physically feel the bone catching inside the hip as I move into certain positions. When you’re trying to throw the bike into a corner and your hip catches, locks up or gives you a sharp pain, it’s incredibly difficult to ride naturally and confidently. I’ve also lost a huge amount of movement and mobility through my hips. Things that should be completely natural on a Speedway bike have become painful and restricted. I’ve continued to race because I love this sport and I don’t want an injury to keep me away from the track, but the reality is that I’m racing through a significant amount of pain, and it’s affecting how I ride, I had to withdraw from the Steve Casey memorial meeting and had to have morphine injected to deal with the amount of pain I was in. I know I’m not performing to the level I should be, and that’s incredibly frustrating because I know what I’m capable of when I’m fit and able to ride the way I want to, and I do take blame for my recent scores which have hampered my teams progress as I know when I’m 100% fit I can score big especially at Berwick. It’s not an excuse for results — it’s simply the reality of what I’ve been dealing with. So What’s next? The good news is that there is finally a plan. I am definitely having surgery to address the problems with my hip. I’m seeing the doctor who will be carrying out the operation on the 14th September, where we’ll discuss everything in detail and hopefully get an official date for the operation. The surgery will be keyhole hip surgery (hip arthroscopy). The aim will be to address the underlying impingement and deal with the damage inside the joint, including the torn labrum. The exact work required will be determined by the surgeon, but the aim is to correct the abnormal bone causing the impingement and repair/treat the damaged labrum. It’s going to be a long road back afterwards. I’ll have rehabilitation to complete and I’ll need to build the strength, mobility and confidence back up properly before I can think about getting back on the bike. But honestly, I’m looking forward to that challenge. I’ve spent a long time trying to ride through this and fighting my way through the pain. Now I just want to get the problem properly treated and give myself the opportunity to get back to being the rider I know I can be. I don’t know exactly how long the road back will be yet, but what I do know is that I’m going to give the recovery absolutely everything I’ve got. Speedway means far too much to me to let this be the end of the story. I’ll get the hip fixed. I’ll put the work in. I’ll get back on the bike. And I’ll come back fighting next season. A massive thank you to everyone who has supported me, checked in on me and continued to believe in me while I’ve been dealing with this. It might have looked like I became a bad rider over night after such a strong start/middle of the season but heavy crashes in the season after the crash that started it all off in April, it’s just slowly deteriorated until it’s become unbearable to deal with even in my day to day life, not being able to sleep at night and do the things I enjoy like go to the gym, walk my dogs, go for runs and hikes and my job. I have the KO Cup Final with Berwick remaining and I don’t want to miss out on being apart of such a huge meeting for a great club who have supported and backed me for the last 2 years. I’ll fight through it and give it everything I can with the position I’m in. When I’m at 100% I know I’m capable of so much more! Hopefully, this is just another chapter in the journey… Again Thank You to everyone who’s supported me through this difficult time I’ve dealt with broken bones and other injuries in my time but this isn’t anything like what I’ve ever been through, Broken bones are a lot more simple than what I’ve got going on. I will come back stronger!

i should hope so, he's not been in hospital for the last couple of months

Think that must have been the case and Barker just got in the way.😂😂

Wasn't he just handing his bike to his mechanic?...

Laguta was better.

While we can agree if they have Video evidence that there was no stamp,it that it Ok too knock somebody of their bike after the race.!! that looked obvious to most observers.

bewly still showing no fear. impressed. on his 1st meeting back.

Second match bound to be much closer.

What happened to Leszno? I remember when they used to have Jarek Hampel.

Genuinely or is Leszno one of the tracks he struggles at? Leszno are being completely put the sword.

Zmarzlik should thank Putin for his world titles. Laguta is the best rider in the world. Kurtz is 4 points behind Bartosz and Kurtz is not close to Laguta's level.

No disrespect to the Meetings being discussed, but neither would get too many Aces fans to attend if they held either at the NSS.. Poole and Glasgow are the two tracks with the largest support in tier two so surdely it would make sense to use those tracks for any joint event.. Glasgow also having four other tier two tracks "not too far" away which could bring a few of their fans to the meeting... The bottom line is these meetings don't carry that much prestige or financial rewards anymore, which will always mean they won't engage too many to travel from a wider distance, especially given the cost of fuel these days, (and on a Wednesday when the kids had gone back to school!)...

Zmarzlik should thank Putin for his world titles. Laguta is the best rider in the world. Kurtz is 4 points behind Bartosz and Kurtz is not close to Laguta's level.

So that's a bit more than 'monitoring the situation '. Good to hear

No it won't be open,and Owlerton still holds over 3000+ and that's unlikely to be reached.

Will the back straight be open at Sheffield for the CLRC next Saturday? If not I think all the supporters on the home straight and bends 3&4 are going to feel like sardines in a can with the large crowd that's anticipated.

The lineal World Champion...

Which Sunday? There’s a BYC meeting on the 13th

Artem Laguta is one of the most talentless riders ever to ride a 600cc motorcycle.

Cook excluded. Harsh.

Injured

Cook didn't change line, and it isn't up to him to ensure Laguta avoids him...