Big blow for Peterborough Panthers as star man misses crunch League Cup tie

The Dane crashed out of Panthers’ surprise home defeat to the Stars on Monday, which has put the Norfolk side in the driving seat for the groupPalm Toft suffered concussion when he fell heavily on the entry to the back straight. He had just moved inside Stars man Richie Worrall but then Stars rider Richard Lawson’s rear wheel, leading to the resulting accident.Concussion protocols mean Palm Toft must sit out for nine days, but assuming there are no further ill effects, he should be fit for Panthers’ Premiership opener at Belle Vue on May 2.In his absence, the rider-replacement facility will be in operation meaning Palm Toft’s rides will be shared amongst his colleagues.Better news is the return of impressive new reserve Benjamin Basso, who missed Monday’s meeting due to Under 21 commitments.And regular team manager Rob Lyon is back at the helm after returning from a pre-booked trip abroad which coincided with the home match, where co-promoter and former boss Carl Johnson stood in.Johnson said: “I know Rob was looking in on Monday and keeping in touch, and hopefully there will be some more fireworks at King’s Lynn!“I actually enjoyed being back in the pressure-cooker. It was good to be back involved, although obviously we wanted things to go a bit smoother.“We had a look at the options to replace Michael and we felt this one was best.The boys go well there so hopefully we’ll be able to turn things around.”Panthers won on both of their visits to the Adrian Flux Arena last season with an emphatic 54-36 triumph in July, followed by a much tighter 46-44 triumph in mid-August – although Palm Toft scored 11+4 in that meeting, so his absence is clearly a major blow.KING’S LYNN: Niels-Kristian Iversen, Thomas Jorgensen, Josh Pickering, Lewis Kerr, Richard Lawson, Richie Worrall, Jack Thomas.PANTHERS: Michael Palm Toft R/R, Scott Nicholls, Ulrich Ostergaard, Hans Andersen, Chris Harris, Benjamin Basso, Jordan Palin.