Legue knocked off track

JEFF LEGUE'S shoulder injury today cast a shadow over preparations for tomorrow's Elite League showdown with Notting-ham Panthers at Sheffield Arena.

Legue was the man picked by many to be the one most likely to light up the Steelers’ scoreboard this season but was derailed last Saturday when hit centre-ice by a freight train called Brad Voth, the Cardiff Devils winger. A scan showed no fractures in bones around his shoulder but he is likely to be absent for at least a month, replaced by last-year player Shane Johnson, who signed a short-term contract today.

He played wing before dropping back to defence last year.

Johnson said today: “I am only too happy to answer the call, they are a great club with great people and I was lucky to have six good months there.

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“My first game last season was against Panthers at short notice and we won, we will try our best to do it again tomorrow.”

Johnson is likely to join Ryan Finnerty and Jonathan Phillips, with Joe Talbot ‘promoted’ to the Ashley Tait, Doug Sheppard line.

Steelers did enough in Saturday’s win over Cardiff to suggest they will do well this year - as long as they have a settled, fully-fit line up.

But the defeat 24 hours later in Coventry showed that they simply cannot afford to go without the likes of Legue and Rod Sarich, who also hurt his shoulder against Cardiff, and will miss tomorrow’s action.

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Like Steelers, tomorrow’s opponents, Nottingham, had a mixed opening weekend.

They beat Manchester 2-0 but then slipped 4-2 at Newcastle.

Panthers’ Ryan Shmyr, who fought Andre Payette, may now have to take on Jeremy Cornish.

The early table shows Sheffield and Nottingham level on two points from two games.