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Jacob Thorssell: Wolves speedway rider suffers broken back in Monmore crash

Wolves speedway hero Jacob Thorssell suffered a broken back after a horror crash at Monmore last night, he has revealed.

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The Swedish ace careered into the fence on the back straight during the Premiership play-off semi final first leg against Belle Vue, suffering a broken vertebra.

The 24-year-old collided with Belle Vue's Ryan Tungate after the opposition rider lost control in Heat 14 of the clash and was rushed to New Cross Hospital by ambulance.

After the race he tweeted: "Thanks a lot for all the tweets. I’m at the hospital in Wolverhampton getting checked up."

And today Thorssell updated fans with a post on Facebook saying: “Unfortunately I have some bad news.... I’ve broken my lower back (T12 I think). Will go to MRI scan soon.”

He may be moved to hospital in Birmingham pending the results of the scan.

A spokesman for the Parrys International Wolves said: "Everyone at Wolverhampton Speedway would like to send Jacob our very best wishes and we will issue further updates when we can."

Thorssell will be out of the return leg in Manchester tonight, in which Wolves will be defending 51-38 lead.

Speaking at the end of the match last night, Wolves team boss Peter Adams said: "We lost Jacob in Heat 14 which was a blow for us.

"He's complaining of pain and discomfort in his lower back and he's struggling to breathe as well.

"He's gone to hospital for X-rays and we'll have to wait and see the outcome of that."