Worcester Wolves have announced Tony Garbelotto as interim head coach in the absence of head coach Ty Shaw.

Coach Shaw was taken ill during an away game at DBL Sharks Sheffield in early January and is still taking some time to recover. In the meantime, Garbelotto will come to the club as head coach for a month to support assistant coaches Dean Blake and Felix Hallam whilst awaiting the return of Ty Shaw.

Blake had been named as temporary head coach, yet now has to prioritise family matters with the imminent arrival of a new baby.

Garbelotto has a wealth of experience coaching in the BBL and at international level having begun his coaching career as an assistant at his local team London Towers, now London Lions, back in 1992.

His career has since taken him to Head coaching positions at BBL Newcastle Eagles, Birmingham Bullets and Everton Tigers. During his time with the Tigers, he coached the team to five pieces of BBL silverware, winning the treble in 2010-11. He has also spent time abroad in Iceland, Germany and Vietnam.

Garbelotto said: “I am excited about joining the Worcester organisation on a temporary basis. Although the club has struggled with results this season, there is a huge amount of talent and high level players on the roster and I hope I can help them to continue to work towards achieving their potential.”

Managing Director Mick Donovan added: “We continue to make adaptions to deal with the challenges that we face this season and clearly, we are both excited and supportive for Dean at this important time for him and his family. Sport is important, but family must come first.

“Tony has a proven track record at all levels as an excellent coach and his appointment sends out a clear message that we are still fighting to win every game that we can and repay the support of our passionate fan base. We sincerely appreciate Tony’s support and experience at this time as we await the return of Ty.”

Garbelotto will be on the sidelines at Friday’s home game against Esh Group Eagles Newcastle before travelling to Manchester Giants on Sunday. Tickets for the game against Newcastle (7.30pm) at the University of Worcester Arena are available at www.worcesterwolves.org.