Stefan Andersson roars back into action for Eastbourne Eagles this weekend.

Andersson, who last rode for Eagles in 1998, lines up for the Elite League champions at Oxford tonight and in the return clash at Arlington Stadium tomorrow night.

Eagles are flying in Andersson to help plug the gap left by the injury to star man Joe Screen, who will be out until next year with a broken thigh.

Andersson's return could not have come at a better time for the Sussex outfit, whose destiny could be shaped to a large degree for the remainder of the season by the events of the next 24 hours or so.

Monday night's win at Wolverhampton, on the back of taking four points off Peterborough, has put Jon Cook's team in good spirits for the Knockout Cup double-header against Oxford.

Cook knows, however, that Eagles need to get past Oxford to send out a message to the fans.

"We gifted Oxford a draw at Arlington at the start of the season and then lost by four points up there when Brent Werner had his only bad meeting and failed to score.

"It will be a great result for us if we can beat them in the cup and will show all those people who wrote us off as no-hopers that we are still in business."

Cook believes Eagles can bounce back into contention in the league, but the immediate task is to knock the spots off the Cheetahs in the cup.

A lot will depend on how Andersson performs, but Cook has made no secret of the fact he believes more surgery is needed on the team in the aftermath of Screen's injury.

"Realistically, there is no ready-made Joe Screen replacement out there, and we can't expect Stefan to score the points that Joe would have scored."

Cook's plans to bring in another rider in time for the cup showdown with Oxford, however, have bitten the dust.

A move for Tomasz Bajerski was blocked by his Polish club, and world long-track champion Kelvin Tatum has been ruled out, ironically, by one-hundredth of a point, the same amount that caused the debacle two weeks ago when King's Lynn refused to race at Arlington.

Cook said: "It was a genuine error. I thought we could use Kelvin, but his average was 0.01 over the limit."

It means a reprieve for one of Eastbourne's other Swedes, Marcus Andersson, who would have made way for Tatum and was set to go on loan to Coventry. Cook said: "We have revealed our hand by making moves for Bajerski and Kelvin, and Marcus understands the position."

Skipper Martin Dugard returns to the No.1 position against Oxford, while Dean Barker and David Norris occupy the other heat leader places. Oxford include a trio of Grand Prix men in Leigh Adams, Todd Wiltshire and Brian Andersen.

Eastbourne: Martin Dugard, Brent Werner, Dean Barker, Stefan Andersson, David Norris, Joonas Kylmakorpi, Marcus Andersson.

Oxford: Rider replacement, Brian Andersen, Todd Wiltshire, Steve Johnston, Leigh Adams, Andrew Appleton, A. N. Other.

Tomorrow's start is at 7.30.