Star Horsham jockey Dean Yendall is in no rush to return to racing after suffering neck fractures in a nasty fall riding Saintly Rose at Terang on December 20.
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The six-time Group One-winning hoop is recovering at home with a form of neck brace.
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"I'm not going to rush back," Yendall said.
"It's pointless rushing back, I want to be right if I do come back.
"It's just a time thing. I'm still in a little bit of pain every now and then, I just woke up aching and it's been five weeks or so."
Yendall will have further assessments by medical professionals over the next few weeks.
"I've got x-rays booked in for the end of the month and an appointment with a neuro specialist in early February to see what's happening," he said.
"I think the worst of it is the ligament damage."
The timing of the fall made it difficult for Yendall to receive a diagnosis.
"The first couple of weeks were hard because it was the Christmas period and everyone was away, so I wasn't getting much information about what was going on," he said.
"They basically said in hospital you've got two fractures in your neck and ligaments damaged through the tendon, muscle area in your neck.
"I didn't know how bad it was or anything like that.
"They basically said that I will be in this thing for 12 weeks and see what happens.
"Hopefully it's not, but as I said it's the ligament damage you worry about, that's why they've got me in this thing and not a normal soft collar thing."
Yendall said he has received many messages of support from people but he doesn't remember the incident at Terang.
"From the trauma, they reckon you get amnesia and obviously the morphine they give you, the painkillers can wipe your memory a little bit as well."
Before the incident, Yendall was in great form in the saddle, winning 24% of his previous fifty rides, dating back to mid-November 2021.
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