Wolves speedway club now have their own answer to the six million dollar man - the £1,000 leg brace. Skipper Peter Karlsson is tackling his knee ligament problems with a custom-built high-tech brace. He tried it out in his native Sweden for one of Tony Rickardsson’s farewell meetings.
And it got a competitive debut at Eastbourne in the Craven Shield at the weekend where the rider recorded two wins from four starts.
Karlsson, pictured, has been pleased by the support, constructed after a special cast was taken of his leg.
“I’m pretty happy,” he said. “The knee’s giving me a little bit of grief - I’m just not used to the brace.
“But it’s no problem. It just messes my riding up a little bit,” said the Parrys International Wolves captain.
“I haven’t been riding for two and a half weeks - not competitively - and that’s got more to do with it than the leg at the moment.”
The brace is made of carbon fibre and titanium and set the rider back a cool £1,000.
Karlsson is due to see a specialist this week to assess whether he needs an operation on the ligaments.
But at the moment he favours using the brace. And while one example will see him through the dying days of this campaign, he will need three - one each in Britain, Sweden and Poland - next year.
“I will need one for each league,” he said. “There’s wear and tear and I can’t leave it behind if I carry stuff around.”
n Wolves have sold the contract of Jesper B Jensen to new Elite League champions Peterborough.
Jensen has been on loan at the Alwalton track this season and was unveiled as a 2007 asset at last night’s play-off second leg decider against Reading, which the Panthers won by one point on aggregate.
“They approached us to see about the possibility of purchasing his contract,” said Wolves promoter Chris Van Straaten today.
“I spoke to Jensen at length and it was a course he wished to take.
“They could guarantee him a team place next year which is something I couldn’t do.
“We don’t sell riders very often, but his wishes were to be transferred. They agreed the valuation.”
By Tim Hamblin
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