Jockey’s ‘harmless’ injury leads to leg being cut open in emergency surgery as probe launched into horror incident

A JOCKEY who thought his injury was ‘harmless’ had to have his leg cut open in emegrency surgery to save it being amputated.

A probe has now been launched into the horror fall suffered by rider Michael Walker at Pakenham racecourse in Australia on Thursday night.

Walker, 37, broke his leg in a seemingly run-of-the-mill fall during a race.

TV cameras captured the moment he was treated by an on-course paramedic after coming off Insaaf.

Walker’s filly clipped the heels of eventually winner Heljami near the end of the one mile race.

The 25-time Group One winning jockey, who has won just under £30million during his career, was taken to Dandenong hospital in Victoria complaining of neck and leg pain.

But it was there doctors discovered his injury was so bad that the leg would have to be cut off unless they acted urgently.

Walker told the Herald Sun: “They had to cut open my leg from the knee down as there was so much pressure.

“There was a possibility the nerves in my leg could die and the leg could die and they may have had to amputate.”

Turned out Walker, who is from New Zealand but based in Melbourne, fractured his fibula and tore his ACL.

Walker has won 25 Group One races and established himself as a top jockey but now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines recovering from a broken leg

Quite something considering Walker originally thought the incident was ‘one of the most harmless I’ve ever been involved in’.

And he will need to have more surgery on Sunday.

A probe has now been launched into the circumstances of his fall.

Rival jockeys Ben Allen, Daniel Stackhouse and Teodore Nugent have all provided evidence to racing chiefs.

Walker was booked to ride seven horses at Flemington on Saturday.

But he now faces a significant spell on the sidelines as he recovers from breaking his leg.

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