Top jockey Davy Russell approaching comeback less than TWO months after breaking his neck in horror fall
DAVY Russell is approaching a return to the saddle less than TWO months after breaking his neck.
The top rider fractured and dislocated several vertebrae in a horror fall at Limerick on November 23.
He underwent surgery and was in a neck brace for several weeks after the incident.
But he reported on Tuesday that he is making good progress as he eyes up a return to the saddle.
Russell told Nick Luck Daily: “I’m feeling great. I never actually felt like I broke a bone, I was well strapped up and I was allowed very little movement.
“I’ve been back for scans and they’re good, the movement is good and I feel good. I’m really looking forward to getting back.
“When I hit the ground I knew I was in a bit of bother but the medical staff I had around me were very reassuring that what had happened to me was fixable.
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“So from the very start there was light at the end of the tunnel."
He is yet to get back on a horse, but the jock, who partnered Tiger Roll to both of his Grand National wins, says a return to riding is the next stage of his rehabilitation.
And though he hasn't set a return date in stone, he is hopeful it will be sooner rather than later.
He said: “What I need to do now is get on a horse. Walking around and doing everyday things I’m fine, so the next step is to getting back on a horse.
“In my position I have to be extremely fit, because of my age and the way things are, I need to be hard fit.
“To get to that point is going to be tough. But my fitness needs to increased before I get back on a racecourse."
And the horse that Russell can't wait to get back to ride is Envoi Allen.
The unbeaten seven-year-old, who won last season's Ballymore Novices' Hurdle, is the red-hot favourite for the Marsh Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
Russell said: “You come across some very nice horses in our sport and I’ve been very lucky to ride some top of the range horses.
“But you see the likes of Envoi Allen who just seems to be a little bit different.
"I enjoyed him something wicked in Cheltenham (last year). I’ve never been more confident on a horse than when I went out on him at Cheltenham."
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