Ipswich Witches have signed Nathan Greaves as a permanent replacement for the injured Danyon Hume.

The 19-year-old from Sheffield, who rides for Wolverhampton in the Premiership, slots straight into the side for this Thursday’s home clash at Foxhall against Scunthorpe – subject to BSPA approval.

The Witches will therefore be back to a full 1-7 of Witches riders after a truncated start to the campaign, that has seen injuries to Kyle Newman, Nico Covatti and Hume.

While Newman is now back in the team, Justin Sedgmen has replaced Covatti and now Greaves is in for Hume.

“Nathan is a good lad and I know the likes of Rory Schlein and Danny King will help him immensely at Ipswich,” Witches director of speedway Chris Louis said.

“For a young rider, he’s got plenty of experience of tracks at Championship level. We only had 2.28 points to play with and Nathan is by far the best option for us.”

Many Witches fans will be wondering why the Suffolk side couldn’t sign James Shanes, whose average would have fitted, after his match-winning performance against Glasgow last week.

“I’ve spent many weeks trying with James to come to an agreement,” Louis said.

“But at the end of the day he would miss 18 Witches meetings between now and the end of the season. He has commitments throughout the year and as much as we have thrown everything at it, we can’t sign a rider who would miss so many meetings.”

Ipswich entertain Scunthorpe this Thursday at Foxhall Stadium.

The Witches currently sit third in the table, admittedly having ridden a couple of meetings more than many around them.

However, considering the injury-hit start to the campaign, Louis is happy with the way his team is riding.

“We are in good shape right now,” Louis added.

“Bearing in mind of the three injuries, two are long-term, we have coped probably as well as anyone in our league could have done.

“We haven’t left a gaping hole between us and the top sides and that was the most important thing.”