Ruby Walsh plans to be back riding out this weekend as he prepares to return to competitive action in time for the Punchestown Festival.
Walsh dislocated his shoulder and fractured the top of his humerus after suffering a bad fall from Abbyssial in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham Festival, and it looked certain he would miss the rest of the campaign.
However, he attended the Sports Surgery Clinic in Santry, Dublin last week and with his injuries healing faster than expected, he is nearing a comeback.
“I’ll be getting back on (a horse) at the weekend,” Walsh told Racing UK. “I will have to have an operation, but I won’t have to have it until later in the summer. They did enough with me to get me fit enough to ride and I’ll have the operation a bit further down the line.
“The doctors are happy with it and if they’re happy with it, I’m more than happy.
"I'll probably be fitter going to Punchestown than I was going to Cheltenham – if the physio has his way! I'll be plenty fit enough."
First anticipated
Any stint on the sidelines is difficult but Walsh admitted it has not been as bad as he first anticipated.
He said: “It’s not been as frustrating as I thought it would be. Gillian (Walsh, wife) had our third daughter, so that took up quite a bit of time.
“I thought I’d be out for quite a bit longer, so to find out then I might make Punchestown has made the time shorter than I thought it would be.”
Paul Webber is ready to let Cantlow carry what could be top-weight in the Boylesports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on Monday.
A winner over two and a half miles at Newbury earlier in the season before filling the runner-up spot in the Stewart Family Thank You Gold Cup at Cheltenham, Cantlow fell when well fancied for a fiercely-competitive Festival handicap last month.
He was unable to get competitive back over hurdles at Aintree’s Grand National meeting, but Webber is hopeful he can get back on track next week.
