Stag night accident floors Shrewsbury rugby skipper Evitts

Shrewsbury Rugby Club skipper Simon Evitts is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines – after suffering a suspected broken neck on a stag do in Gran Canaria.

Evitts did the damage last Friday but did not realise the extent of the injury and actually trained back at Shrewsbury on Tuesday and was named at no 13 for tomorrow's Midlands Two West (North) clash at home to Stafford.

On Wednesday, he went to A&E at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital complaining of discomfort, only to be told that he had almost certainly broken the C1 vertebrae in his neck.

"I did it diving into the swimming pool, I didn't realise it was the shallow end and I landed on my head," said a sheepish Evitts.

"I thought I was okay though, and I did some running on Tuesday at training and was down to be starting tomorrow.

"Now I'm just hoping to be able to go along and watch."

Shrewsbury will be hoping to finally put some points on the board against Stafford, having lost all of their first four games.

James Plant joins Evitts on the sidelines, having picked up a knee injury, but the side is boosted by the return of Dan Harrison.

Bridgnorth are boosted by the return of a quartet of key men ahead of their Midlands Two West (North) clash at home to Tamworth tomorrow.

Mike Preece, Cliff Tompkinson, Colin Campbell and Ryan Arnell have all been declared fit and named in the All Blacks' starting line-up.

Their return is a major filip for skipper Gareth Bladen, who is eager to keep the pressures on the early front-runners in the division.

"It strengthens the team with experience," said Bladen. "They are key to our team. The players who have been playing while they have been out have done a fantastic job but we want to make sure we have our strongest, most experienced team on the pitch.

"Having these players back allows us to do that."

Exclusive by Chris Hudson