Cape jockey MJ Byleveld has had an operation to repair the right leg injury he suffered when he was kicked by Ready To Attack coming back in after the Langerman nearly 14 months ago. But he is optimistic that he will be able to return inside three weeks, writes Michael Clower.
MJ Byleveld on the injured list
He said: “I had the operation in Cape Town on August 4, I have been having physio in the meantime and I go back to the doctor on August 26. I will probably be able to get back on a horse the following day.”
The original painful and horrific-looking gash required eight stitches just below the knee but the damage proved to be worse than first diagnosed.
Byleveld explained: “I had x-rays done at the time but not an MRI scan. Then, slowly but surely, it began aggravating me. When I did eventually go for a scan the doctors found that some of the cartilage had been ripped off and was floating around in my knee.
“By that time it was close to the Durban season so I put off the operation until this month. The doctors cleaned up the cartilage and said the operation was successful.”
Anthony Andrews – added value
He missed out on a winner at Kenilworth on Saturday when Richard Fourie deputised on 14-10 favourite Omaha Tribe in the 2 400m maiden. Vaughan Marshall, who intends putting Tribal Dance’s half-brother away until the finish of the Durbanville stint, also scored with Royal Chian, a fifth success for 20-year-old Craig Bantam.
Meanwhile his colleague, Anthony Andrews, riding for the first time since his two-month Mauritius spell, is keen to get back into the swing of things and reckons he has more to offer.
“I like to think that I am now sharper and more tactically aware,” he said. “Everything happens very quickly in Mauritius and your decisions have to be split-second. You also have to be aware of where the other horses are and how they like to be ridden, particularly the favourite.”
www.goldcircle.co.za
