Sidelined jockey Jim Byrne can’t wait for September.
“September is when I go back and see the surgeon,” said Byrne who has not ridden for a little over three months since being left with no choice but to opt for knee surgery, instead of retirement, when the constant, horrendous pain he was suffering, with both knees failing, became too much to bear.
“Those were my two choices … and I’m not ready to retire yet … so it had to be surgery.”
While Byrne still can’t go swinging around the dance floor, he did look remarkably fit when he made an appearance at the Eagle Farm meeting last week.
“I’m doing physio twice a week plus I’ve got a special sports masseuse,” said Byrne.
“That’s another story. The other week she released my hip flexors … oh my God … it was just awful at the time, but, sure enough, I got a lot of relief from that … and, yeah, the knees are feeling pretty good now.”
And it is a pretty strict fitness regime.
“I’ve started back at the gym … so I’m doing that once a week,” continued Byrne.
“Monday I’ve got the gym. Tuesday Its physio. Wednesday is with my sports masseuse. Friday is physio and Saturday I try and take it easy.
‘There are other little pieces to the puzzle as well. On the Tuesday after physio, I went straight off to Deagon and jumped on the workhorse. It felt good. Because it was nice and loose and everything wasn’t tight … it kinda loosened up and it felt good.
“I did pull up a little bit stiff … I was definitely stiff the next day … but it is definitely going better.
“The nicest part of that though was, even though it was tight and stiff afterwards, there was no pain there.
“Given that it was pure torture before, that is a huge plus. I don’t take any medication now, at all, which is just great. It was killing me having to take so much when the pain was that bad.
“So, fingers crossed, it all goes well when I go back to see the surgeon.
“We had earmarked September for my return to riding. When in September doesn’t matter. I’ll go and see the doctor and as soon as he gives me the ok to get on a horse, I will be on a horse immediately the next day and then I’ll just have to progress it and manage it from there.
“Not that I will rush it in any way at all. That would be foolish.
“The thing is when I had one knee sore all of the time it was not too bad, but when I had them both the one can’t compensate for the other … they have both got to be right before you even attempt it.
“The time out has obviously been frustrating, but I simply had to have the surgery.
“I can assure you that what happens with jockeys is they always think about what is coming up … what are they going to miss if they have time off … that’s what happens all the way through, but there comes a time when ultimately there is nothing you can do about it.
“You have to take care of your body because your health is worth more than anything.”
