Leighton Aspell faced another spell out of racing action after he broke his collarbone on his return from suspension at Towcester yesterday.

Nine days after his arrest with Jamie Osborne and Dean Gallagher by police investigating allegations of doping and race-fixing, his first ride back ended with a heavy fall.

Aspell, cleared by the Jockey Club to resume riding on Tuesday, became the first of the trio to begin his comeback when partnering New Rising for Josh Gifford in the Michael McManus Novices Hurdle.

But the conditional finished on the deck after just five flights as stablemate Solomon, the evens favourite, took the contest.

Aspell returned to the course apparently unscathed and clearly unaware that he had sustained any injury.

"It was just greenness. He just stepped at it. He decided to take a long one and was a bit too long. He fell right on his head," he told Bill Naylor, owner of the 16 to 1 New Rising.

But once back inside the weighing room, Aspell underwent medical attention and later left with his arm strapped up to be driven to Worthing Hospital in Sussex by Philip Hide.

"I've broken my collar-bone," confirmed the jockey who had three booked rides at Lingfield today.

Dr Dan McMullan said: "It needs to be confirmed by x-ray but I think he has broken his collarbone and if he has he will be off for a few weeks."

Ironically, Aspell had slipped into the course through the first aid room he was to end up in to avoid the media waiting outside the weighing room.

When he finally emerged to walk out to the parade ring he declined all requests for interviews or autographs.

There was not one dissenting voice from a larger than average Towcester crowd.

But he now faces another battle to get back to riding action having sustained yesterday's injury in the same area damaged by a fall at Exeter in December.

His boss Gifford, who had lambasted the Jockey Club for suspending Aspell's licence, was reluctant to say anymore about the arrests but said his owners were all behind the rider.

"Everyone's been fantastic and will stick by him even more," he said. The whole thing is a fairy story unless they come up with something else I don't know about.

"I fully expected when they knocked down doors, wrapped them up in chains, at least they'd have murdered somebody. But we still don't know."

Michael Caulfield, secretary of the British Jockeys Association, believes the return of the licences had been a positive move for racing.

"This is just like a normal Thursday at Towcester," he said. "Getting the licences back was the target and now everyone is in good spirits."

Leading rails bookmaker Stephen Little doesn't expect the integrity of the sport to be under threat with the jockeys back riding.