Doctor puts Damian Browne return on hold
Jockey Damian Browne will have a further wait before doctors give him a clearance to ride in races.
Top Queensland jockey Damian Browne’s comeback has been delayed at least a fortnight after doctors warned him to guard against an infection in his reset nose.
Browne had planned to resume riding at Doomben on Saturday after a six weeks break.
He went to the specialist on Monday who advised him to delay the comeback two to three weeks.
“Basically they want to guard against any infection getting into the nose. The kick back of dirt in a race is an obvious danger,” Browne said.
Browne hasn’t ridden since the middle of July when he was injured riding trackwork.
“The horse I was riding swung its head around and basically mashed my nose across my face,” he saud.
“It wasn’t the best nose in the first place as I reckon I have broken it eight or nine times previously,” he said.
Browne has been able to ride trackwork where there is no kickback to worry about.
“I am really looking forward to getting back to race riding and there is a chance I can be back as early as an extra week away. But at this stage I am looking at two to three weeks,” he said.
“I was house-bound for a while but at least I have been able to spend the weekends with the kids.”
Browne was recently unsuccessful in an internal review of two months suspension he received for a ride in June and is now waiting for a date to further appeal at the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.