INJURED Jason Doyle is "gutted" to be sidelined from the Craven Shield final but believes Pirates still have a good chance of lifting the trophy.

The young Australian sustained a separated shoulder injury while guesting for Somerset at Stoke 12 days ago.

It means he misses out on the three-legged final against Elite League champions Coventry and runners-up Swindon that begins at Wimborne Road tonight (7.30pm).

Doyle, who played a pivotal part in Poole Castle Cover reaching the final, said: "I'm gutted because I was hoping to be in the final and to help Pirates win the trophy.

"I helped them reach the final, and I was looking to do good things over the three legs.

"It's also three meetings I miss out on, which hits my pocket hard. So it's not the best way for me to finish the season.

"But I'll still be at Poole Stadium supporting the boys tonight and I'll also be at Swindon tomorrow and at Coventry on Friday.

"They have a big task ahead of them. But they will be all right and it would be great if they could bow out by the taking the silverware."

Doyle, who missed almost two months earlier in the season with a broken ankle sustained in a fall at Poole in April, added: "I've separated my shoulder and the doctors said I should take three months' rest.

"It didn't look like there was anything wrong after I fell. But it is all muscle and tendon damage.

"I tried to ride in the Lubos Tomicek Memorial in Prague two days later but I only did two races. I couldn't hold on to the bike properly so I had to pull out of the meeting.

"It was just too painful. Riding in Prague probably made the shoulder injury 10 times worse, but I will get over it and you can only learn from that type of experience.

"I have to go to physio three times a week for the next few weeks and then we'll see where we are."

Doyle also revealed his ankle has never properly healed despite undergoing an operation following his Good Friday crash at Poole.

He said: "There is some loose bone floating around and I've got to have three months intensive physio before the doctors will decide if I need surgery.

"They're not sure whether the tendon is strong enough so they need to find that out before deciding whether I need an operation."