Walker facing second op on leg

STAR jockey Michael Walker faces a long stint on the sidelines after emergency surgery on his broken leg following an innocuous fall at Pakenham.

Walker, 37, remains at Dandenong Hospital, where the 25-time Group 1-winning jockey will have a second round of surgery on Sunday.

Despite the effects of strong pain medication, he provided an update on his condition.

“They had to cut open my leg from the knee down as there was so much pressure,” he said. “There was a possibility the nerves in my leg could die and the leg could die and (then) they may have had to amputate.”

Walker (pictured) suffered a fractured fibula and torn ACL in the fall on Thursday night. The setback is a blow for the Melbournebased Kiwi hoop, a regular rider for leading stables, including Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr and Chris Waller.

Walker was booked to ride seven horses at Flemington on Saturday, including Waller’s stayer Mohican Heights, a contender in the $400,000 The Andrew Ramsden.

His other rides were For Real Life (R1), Brimarvi Vehero (R3), Brimham Rocks (R4), Garvoc (R5), Cumberbatch (R7) and Bumper Blast (R8).

Walker was dislodged after his filly, Insaaf, clipped the heels of eventual winner Heljami approaching the 500m.

Evidence was taken from jockeys Ben Allen (Heljami), Daniel Stackhouse (Divine Rule) and Teodore Nugent (Classy Pins). The inquiry was adjourned to a date to be fixed, allowing the stewards time to speak with Walker.

Walker was taken to Dandenong Hospital with pain in his neck and leg.

In a Racing.com interview, he described the incident as “one of the most harmless I’ve ever been involved in”.