Corey Brown fighting for spinal surgery

Image: Bruno Cannatelli

Corey Brown is awaiting much needed surgery to repair his spine following a fall

Melbourne Cup winning jockey Corey Brown is waiting on a court hearing before he can hopefully be cleared to have spinal surgery.

Corey Brown fractured his spine in a fall during the 2019 Queensland Derby which has turned into a nightmare ordeal which could continue due to issues with Workcover.

‘’I was meant to have been operated on about five or six months ago and Workcover have been kind enough to deny the operation,’’ Brown told Racing.com.

‘’I was meant to have a court hearing about a week and a half ago but they (Workcover) have put it back to the 19^th of February.

‘’It (operation to fuse the spine) needs to be done with the pain I am in at the moment.

‘’The apparatus (plate and screws) has to come out and it (spine) has to be fused, but the amount he (surgeon) has to fuse he is unsure of until I am on the operating table.

‘’I have had two spine specialists in NSW both tell me the exactly the same thing: ‘this is what needs to be done otherwise, basically your back will fall over and collapse’.

Brown who is a winner 49 Group 1 races including two Melbourne Cups is still determined to make a comeback to race riding but it is becoming more unlikely as the situation surrounding his surgery drags on.

The recovery period following the surgery will be a minimum of 15 months which would mean at earliest Brown would be back riding the middle of next year.

Brown’s legal team is hopeful a mediator could take up the dispute before the matter gets to court.