CRADLEY are hoping to have a new rider in their side by this weekend’s transfer deadline.

The Heathens have been without teenage ace Nathan Greaves since June after he suffered a serious leg injury.

It’s been far from ideal and Will Pottinger’s men have done well to stay in contention for the league title this long – but last Friday’s defeat at King’s Lynn was a crushing blow.

Now they are hoping to beef up their side ahead of a key month of September with both the Knockout Cup and Gold Cup still to race for.

Pottinger said: "We've been looking for somebody to replace Nathan for a long time, and there just hasn't been anything out there until this point.

"Luckily something seems to have come up now, and although it's quite late and we've only got until Friday to make a change it would be good to have a full team back for the final stages of the season.

"We've got to move quickly, and we are waiting for the rider concerned to pass a fitness assessment, but hopefully he'll get through that and we'll be back to full strength.

"Although I think we've covered Nathan's absence reasonably well with rider replacement you'd always prefer to have a full team.

"We might not be likely to win the title any more, but we are still desperate to get as many points as possible from our remaining meetings to see where we end up.

"We've still got the Knockout Cup and the Gold Cup to come at the end of the season as well, so we want to be as strong as possible for the closing stages of the season because we'd love to make sure we get some silverware to show for our efforts this season."

Cradley head to Rye House this Saturday without Matt Williamson who is on Premier League duty for Workington – and if the new signing doesn’t get the green light they will need to book a guest replacement.

The next meeting at Perry Barr is the return clash with Rye House on Wednesday September 9.