Cieren Fallon facing lengthy spell out injured after stalls incident

Cieren Fallon faces months on the sidelines after sustaining ligament damage in a stalls incident at Newcastle on November 10. 

The 2019 and 2020 champion apprentice suffered ankle and knee injuries when his mount Persian Blue burst out of the stalls before the 5f novice for juveniles, from which she was withdrawn. 

"I was in the stalls on a filly of William Haggas’s and one of the runners kicked out and my filly half jumped at the gates. She went down and I slid up her neck and went down with her. My left ankle got jammed between her and the rail that the stalls handlers sometimes stand on," said Fallon.

"She burst out without me and when they got me out I fainted briefly and was taken to the medical room, but I was conscious and took myself off home for some x-rays the following day which were clear. On the Sunday, however, I had MRI scans that showed I’d done ligaments in my ankle as well as my knee and I’m now on crutches.”

The 24-year-old had been in a rich run of form before his injury and rode a treble at Wolverhampton on November 2 before bagging a pair of Listed races for the Haggas stable at Lingfield five days later.

His fall came just an hour before his weighing room colleague Graham Lee suffered serious neck and spinal injuries, and Fallon added: "I have injuries to my MCL ligaments in my knee which are tears to the fibres and also to my ACL ligaments, but bearing in mind what happened to Graham that night I count myself as being lucky. My thoughts are with Graham.

"It’s too early to say when I will be back riding, possibly in February, but the main thing is to get myself right for the turf season next year. It’s a shame as things had been going well with doubles and trebles all over the place but I was the lucky one that night, no doubt about it."

Read more:

Graham Lee 'has made positive progress' as doctors look at moving jockey closer to home 

Dane O'Neill 'optimistic but realistic' as serious injuries threaten to cut career short

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