The Harry Jordan Haulage sponsored Lions will be back to full strength for the visit of Scunthorpe on Saturday.
With Adam Roynon out of the team for an indefinite length of time following an injury sustained whilst riding for his parent club the Coventry Bees on Friday night Promoter David Hemsley was forced into finding a replacement and has completed a deal for Magnus Karlsson to return to the club subject to the approval of the British Speedway Promoters Association.
“How long Adam will be out for is difficult to predict and therefore we were faced with a dilemma of continuing with the rider replacement facility or looking to bring someone new into the team. The answer had to be the latter and so the search began for someone who would slip into the side and at least give us the scoring power that we will miss by not having Adam around and that led me to consider approaching Magnus Karlsson who is still on our books” said the Lions Promoter David Hemsley.
Karlsson joined Leicester in the summer of 2011 and it was his presence together with the arrival of Kauko Nieminen that helped change the Lions fortunes after a string of home reverses. “I am sure that the news will be welcomed by everyone as Magnus was a popular person during his eighteen months at the club. Magnus always figured in our team building plans during the winter but at the time both parties were some way apart in terms of agreeing a contract and we had to quickly move on in another direction to ensure that we did not miss out on riders of the same quality” added Hemsley.
The inclusion of Karlsson sees a change to the riding order for Saturday’s League Cup fixture against the Scunthorpe Scorpions. Jan Graversen moves from the number two position to partner Lasse Bjerre and Kevin Doolan will form a new opening partnership with his captain Kauko Nieminen. Magnus Karlsson will wear the number five race-bib, the position he occupied in the Lions team last season.
Team: 1 Kauko Nieminen, 2 Kevin Doolan, 3 Lasse Bjerre, 4 Jan Graversen, 5 Magnus Karlsson, 6 Simon Nielsen and 7 Lewis Blackbird
