Fears that Tony McCoy would have to endure a lengthy spell on the sidelines following a nasty incident at Folkestone yesterday have proved to be unfounded.
It was thought the champion jockey had broken his thumb after being thrown from Flying Patriarch at the start of the Daily Mail Juvenile Maiden Hurdle, but X-rays have revealed just a dislocation.
McCoy was adjusting his reins when the Gary Moore-trained gelding spooked as another horse went past, causing the jockey to come out of the saddle. He caught his thumb in the reins.
Early reports from the course stated he had broken the thumb, but X-rays taken at the Ridgeway Hospital, Swindon, showed a different picture.
"He has dislocated the tip of his thumb and there is no fracture, which is good news," said McCoy's personal assistant Gee Armytage last night. "Ian Lowden, who is a hand specialist, is putting the dislocation back into place at the Ridgeway. Tony will then be going home.
"Apparently this same thing happens to rugby players and it is normally put back into place there and then. Mr Lowden hopes the injury won't keep him out for too long - and Tony did say that he was keen to get back on the horse and ride in the race!
"He is a very tough man and will be doing all he can to get ready for the Hennessy meeting (at Newbury on November 27th). There is no question of him being out for six weeks."
McCoy has been relatively injury-free since February, when he was off for just over a week with a fractured cheekbone and returned to ride with the aid of a face mask.