SHEFFIELD will be without American ace Broc Nicol for their Owlerton clash with Somerset this evening (Sunday, 5.30).

The 21-year-old was caught by Josh Bates in his opening race on Saturday whilst guesting for Redcar at Leicester.

Nicol was knocked unconscious and scans have also revealed he’s suffered a broken collarbone.

Tigers have no alternative but to operate rider replacement in the home fixture against Somerset.

Team boss Simon Stead said: “It’s another massive blow for us going into such an important meeting.

“Broc had just started finding his groove again and that’s what makes it even more of a real shame.

“We send Broc our very best wishes but in the meantime we have to get on with things.

“It means we’re down to four of our regular riders for what would’ve been a tough enough test against Somerset anyway - but we can still do this.

“It goes without saying we’re going to need the Sheffield supporters to be our extra rider though - so we want to see them turn out in good numbers and make plenty of noise for the boys!”

SHEFFIELD: Danny King, Drew Kemp, Ty Proctor, Broc Nicol R/R, Jake Allen, Simon Lambert, Josh MacDonald.

SOMERSET: Rory Schlein, Todd Kurtz, Stefan Nielsen, Valentin Grobauer, Chris Harris, Anders Rowe, Henry Atkins.