Monarchs' injured second string Ross Brady declared himself 95% certain to be fit on Friday's key match against Workington.
Brady broke three toes in a freak trials bike accident last week. This caused him to miss the Armadale match against the Czech touring team and, more critically, the the Premier National Trophy opener at Berwick.
Brady, who has had a rather frustrating start to the season, is keen to get back into action to press his claim for a heat leader spot when the first Green Sheets are issued. He was unable to ride at Berwick because he could not get his riding boot over his swollen right foot. Ross admits that he still cannot get a boot on:
"I'm 95 per cent certain to ride. Although my foot is still pretty sore, I was at the gym on Monday and it helped. My foot is still swollen but hopefully it will have gone down by Friday."
"Although this is a big match, I've got my whole career in front of me. I'm not going to rush back unless I feel absolutely right. It would do neither myself nor the team any good if I were to come back too early."
Brady was a spectator at Armadale on Friday on crutches and also at Berwick on Saturday. He had to watch Monarchs go down to the Bandits after a brave fight. His presence on track could so easily have made all the difference.
"Although we lost, it was still a good result which will help us get the bonus point when Berwick come to Armadale."
Christian Henry came under some fire for not scoring more points around a big track that should have been to his liking. Ross was quick to defend his teammate:
"I'm sure within a couple of weeks Christian will improve. He told me of his plans to get his bike sorted out and also to work on his starts. He is also planning to undergo a fitness programme. Christian has the ability and looks fast when he gets going."
Ross has been helping out Christian by providing workshop facilities. He also loaned Christian a bike after his own was badly damaged in the now infamous heat two pile-up on the opening night at Armadale.
Brady admitted that Edinburgh will face a tough task against Workington:
"It will be an extremely difficult test for us. Workington's heat leaders all fly round our track. Indeed their whole team is pretty solid."
Monarchs face a tough battle with Workington, Sheffield and early pace-setters, Berwick for one of the two qualification places.
The early matches have thrown up a number of surprise away wins in the competition. This is possibly due to the poor weather and its impact on track preparation. This may have nullified home advantage as unusual track conditions can often favour the visitors. In the under-21 Final, Ross and Blair appeared to suffer more from the track than visitors with poor previous Armadale form such as Danny Bird and Andrew Appleton.
It may be to Monarchs' advantage that they have been late in starting their Premier National Trophy campaign and have avoided any potential 'banana skins'. This happened last year when Newcastle won at Armadale. Most of the upsets, so far, have been in the Southern group but Hull recorded a shock win at Newcastle. Monarchs will certainly be hoping for some home advantage on Friday!