Adam Shields injured his knee riding for Australia on 3 June

Lakeside Hammers co-promoter Jon Cook says he is planning the rest of the season without Adam Shields.

The Australian has been sidelined with a knee injury this month and is set to be out for the whole of July.

Cook told BBC Essex the prognosis is not good: "We're starting to make plans for the rest of the season without him.

"We are just waiting for what we feel is the inevitable decision - in that he will need a full operation to rebuild his knee ligament."

He added: "We still hold a grain of hope that's not the case, but certainly the progress for Adam is very slow."

The Hammers will use rider replacement for this week's fixtures against Swindon on Thursday and Belle Vue on Friday.

Cook has not ruled out signing a temporary replacement for Shields in the future.

"Looking at the rider availability for replacements, its not great at the moment. But it will improve as the Polish season winds down."

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