Thumb injury will keep Paul Townend on sidelines for a few weeks
- Scott Allen
- 2 August 2022
A thumb injury sustained after being unseated by Augusta Gold at the Galway Festival will keep Champion Jockey Paul Townend out of action for a few weeks.
The Champion Jockey was stood down on the final day of the seven-day meeting last week after injuring his thumb in the Eileen Kelly Memorial Chase, which was won by Politesse.
The 31-year-old only got as far as the first fence n the two-mile-six-furlong contest when unseated by Augusta Gold.
Initial thoughts were that Townend may have dislocated his thumb in the incident and the dual Gold Cup-winning rider was set to have an X-Ray on Tuesday morning.
But Willie Mullins has revealed the injury is not as bad as first feared and Townend should be back in the saddle following a few weeks of rest.
The Closutton handler said: "Paul said he didn't think it was as bad as he thought it was at first, so he's just going to rest it for a few weeks and let it come right."
