Fears that Tony McCoy would have to endure a lengthy spell on the sidelines following a nasty incident at Folkestone today 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.
