Khumalo has knee surgery

Former champion jockey S’manga Khumalo is on the road to recovery following surgery last Thursday to remove a pin from his left knee and is hoping to start riding work soon after the stitches come out at the end of the month.

He has not been seen on a racecourse since 29 November because he was suffering from terrible pain in his back, which was traced to the knee.

“It started getting sore last season when I was chasing the championship and travelling, but I raced with the pain. By the end of November my trainer Sean Tarry and I decided it wasn’t safe anymore and that I’d need to have it looked at.”

Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Michael Mc Donald suggested an operation to remove a pin from a 2011 knee surgery would realign the back.

Khumalo, meanwhile, has not been taking it easy in the last six weeks. He’s on a mission to get back into the saddle as quickly as possible, aided by ex-personal trainer Erich van Niekerk. Van Niekerk has him on a strict diet and he is being treated by a sports injury chiropractor Dr Michael Prichard and biokineticist Jessica Weston. “I wish I’d known about such measures before,” he mourned.

“I’ve been very lucky,” he continued. “Thanks to Erich I’m on a good diet – I’m allowed 1,500 calories a day and we count them using the ‘My Fitness’ app – so my weight is stable. Jessica is working on the knee, as well as my upper body strength and core. And my back is feeling find now. I’ll be a new man when I get back!”

The knee is still in a brace until the stitches come out and Khumalo has decided he will not be pushing his recovery, given how crucial a jockey’s knees are to balance and to urge a horse on.