Aces’ Jye is on mend after smash
ATPI Aces No.2 Jye Etheridge says he’s on the mend following the incident at Berwick on May 14 that left him nursing a fractured collarbone.
The 27-year-old crashed out of the first heat of the Bandits’ Championship clash with Redcar after coming together with Belle Vue team mate Charles Wright.
Despite initial fears, the New South Wales racer escaped suffering a serious break but has been sidelined while he recovers.
Etheridge missed Belle Vue’s home and away meetings against King’s Lynn and is set to miss the club’s fixture at Sheffield on May 26.
He said: “It’s incredibly frustrating having to watch meetings, seeing the boys getting ready to race and me not being able to join them.
“It was just one of those incidents, I got a bit of a nudge on the first turn and spun off; it was probably the slowest slide off you’ve ever seen.
“The problem I have is that I already have a plate on my collarbone and the fracture is right at the end of the plate. I don’t know how big or small it is but either way, it is very painful.
“At this stage it’s too soon for me to be thinking about getting back on a bike in the immediate future. It feels like it has improved since last week, but it is still quite sore in the sling.
“I can’t do much right now except wait. I’ve had a lot of different opinions as to when I’ll be OK to race, but now my plan is to try and aim for the Belle Vue home fixture on June 6.
“I’d like to get a few practice laps in before then just to see how I am before I jump back into a meeting, so we’ll see how things go and hopefully I’ll be back sooner rather than later.”