Lewis Bridger has assured Eastbourne fans he will be fit for derby day.

The 19-year-old Eagles star pulled out of his top-flight Polish meeting for Czestochowa on Sunday.

Bridger suffered shoulder damage when falling in heat 13 of Eagles’ win over Ipswich but has vowed to race at Lakeside in Friday’s re-arranged Elite League tussle. Eagles also face high-flying Swindon at Arlington next Monday.

Bridger said: “I’ve done some muscle damage and taken some skin off but I’ll be okay by the weekend.”

Eastbourne will be at full strength as they go to a Lakeside circuit where Bridger won the British Under-21 Championship recently.

He added: “We’ve got to go there and make starts.

“It’s always slick up there but we know what to expect.”

Eastbourne promoter Bob Dugard has taken a dig at his Lakeside counterparts by offering his men a special practice session on Thursday.

Dugard said: “I’ll be making the track like ice so they can test out engines for Lakeside.”

Meanwhile, new Eagles No. 8 Chris Schramm has set his sights on more Elite League outings after standing in for Simon Gustafsson against the Witches.

The former Ipswich rider said: “I wanted to come back into the Elite League and give it a good shot.

“If you want to move forward you have got to ride with people who are far quicker than you.

“Everybody in this league is far quicker than me at the moment.

“That’s what hopefully is going to pull me forward.”