Gjedde out for season

Gjedde: Sidelined

Related links

Teams

• Belle Vue Aces

Also see

• Transfer Centre
• Fantasy Football
• Papers
• Your View
• Betting

Belle Vue skipper Charlie Gjedde has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

The Danish international is set to undergo surgery on his shoulder after a tendon became detached.

Gjedde has tried to ride through the injury, but has now accepted he needs the operation.

"Charlie had seen a specialist about the injury and he confirmed the tendon problem," team boss Chris Morton said on the club's website.

"He has been told the operation will mean being out of action from six to nine months so he will be having it shortly in order to be ready for the start of next season.

"Charlie had tried to ride with the injury but it had got to the point where he was struggling to handle his bike properly.

"He has been courageous about trying to keep going but it has steadily got worse and he can't go on. He was very disappointed after the meeting at Swindon and he knew then he had to call it a day for the season.

"He has no strength in his shoulder and you can see it when you watch him riding. It has been a big problem for him when he has been racing.

"He has been told it will take from six to nine months to recover from the operation. I would think that would be nearer six months because he is a fit guy but it means that he needs to have the operation now in order to be fit for the start of next season in March.

"The meeting at Swindon brought the situation to a head. He told me afterwards that he had tried his best but just couldn't manage any longer.

"There is muscle wastage as well as the ligament problem so the only sensible thing is to get on with the operation.

"He knew he had a problem and he felt it was time to stop trying to ride through it because he felt he was letting people down.

"He hasn't just been struggling at Belle Vue because his scoring has been down in Europe as well so now he won't be riding anywhere until he has recovered from the operation."

The Aces will use the rider replacement rule for Gjedde until a replacement can be found.