Eastbourne Eagles are building up a treasure trove of top riders to replace injured ace Mark Loram.

Billy Janniro, Lee Richardson and Todd Wiltshire have already been booked for guest appearances, and they are likely to be joined by Peter Karlsson and Nicki Pedersen as the Sussex squad come to terms with life without their talisman.

Former world champion Loram will be out of action for a chunk of the season after breaking his left arm in two places a week ago.

Eastbourne boss Jon Cook's master plan, however, is on hold until after tomorrow night's visit of Belle Vue to Arlington Stadium.

Janniro will come into the side at Oxford next Friday, then Richardson takes over for the home match against Peterborough the night after and for the away match at Poole the following Monday.

Wiltshire rides in the return fixture at Peterborough, which has been brought forward 24 hours to May 8, while next Thursday's match at Ipswich is off until later in the season.

None of Cook's fabulous five, however, is available tomorrow, when Eagles will switch skipper Joe Screen to No. 1 and operate rider replacement at No. 5.

Guest stars apart, if Eastbourne were in the market to find a more permanent replacement for Loram, then another former world champion, Greg Hancock, appears to be in a majority of one.

The American, who these days is based in Sweden, has not ridden in England since a bitter split with Coventry two years ago and even if he agreed to come to Eastbourne, the club would need to apply for a work permit, which would rule him out for at least two weeks.

One thing Cook is adamant about is that he will not try to cover for Loram's absence by bringing in more than one rider to balance the averages.

"I won't make the same mistake as I did two years ago when Joe Screen was injured.

"Strengthening the middle ord-er with two riders rather than bringing in one top-class rider was a terrible move, and I won't be going down that road again."

Cook concedes that losing Loram, who spent four days in hospital where a plate was inser-ted in his arm above the elbow, is a huge blow, especially away from home, but he says: "I'm hopeful Mark will be back sooner rather than later. In the meantime, we will go with quality riders in his place."

Eastbourne should record their first double of the season against a Belle Vue side who have lost seven out of seven so far in the league, including a 49-41 home defeat against Eagles 11 days ago.

Eastbourne won that one in a canter, with only Jason Crump's 18-point maximum preventing a rout.

The danger is that the Aces, who look a decent enough team on paper, might suddenly get their act together and cause an upset.

Their only win in nine matches was at home to Wolverhampton in the Knockout Cup 49-41, but that counted for nothing when Wolves won the return, admittedly with Crump going AWOL, by 57-33.

Bottom in 2000, bottom in 2001 and down among the dead men again last year, when only the now Elite defunct King's Lynn finished below them.

It's a sad record for a club with arguably the most famous name in speedway.

Currently, the men charged with lifting Belle Vue out of the mire include Steve Johnston, who led Oxford to the title two years ago, ex-Eagle Josh Larsen and a couple of riders who have flown round Arlington in the past, Jason Lyons and Chris Manchester.

Eagles, who have tracked a variety of riders in the No. 7 race jacket this year, revert to Leigh Lanham for this one.

Eastbourne: Joe Screen, Dean Barker, David Norris, Joonas Kylmakorpi, rider replacement, Adam Shields, Leigh Lanham.

Belle Vue: Jason Crump, Josh Larsen, Steve Johnston, Ales Dryml, Jason Lyons, Chris Manchester, Craig Watson.

Tomorrow's start is at 7.30.