Micky Fitz

ATR ....

Mick Fitzgerald's second operation on the neck injury he sustained after his fall from L'Ami in the Grand National is reported to have been a success.

Fitzgerald underwent five hours of surgery and will be assessed on an ongoing basis. His neck is now supported by a fixed brace rather than a halo and if he continues to progress, plans will be made in the near future for him to return home.

Fitzgerald also had surgery on his knee to repair severe ligament damage, which also went well.


:D
 
Mick evidently goes home from hospital today! :clap: He is back writing his column so things seem to be improving albeit probably very slowly and still a long way to go with his recuperation.
 
He just gave a short interview on Sportsweek which should be on Iplayer later. He seemed pretty upbeat, but grateful that it could have been worse.

He seems more concerned about his knee than his neck.
 
Luke has done an interview with Micky Fitz that has been shown on ATR.
Would imagine it will be on the website in due course as well as being shown ocassionally on the channel when time allows.
 
".................as well as being shown ocassionally on the channel when time allows."

Knowing ATR, just before a race is due to go off, they missed the start of a race again recently.
 
Fitzgerald won't rush
decision on future

Mick Fitzgerald will hold fire on a decision over his retirement

by John Sexton


MICK FITZGERALD, who suffered serious injuries to his neck and spine when L'Ami fell at the second fence in the Grand National three weeks ago, is not going to be rushed into making a decision over his future despite two operations so far.

Having already come out of retirement once, Fitzgerald told BBC Radio 5 Live on Saturday that he is planning to give himself time before making any decision.

“I said the last time, after saying I was going to give it everything I'd got in 2006/07, that I would never speculate as to how long I'm going to last, and this is no different.

“All I want now is to just get back to leading a normal life, and once I've done that, I'll makethe decision on the facts around me.

“Until then, I won't be rushed into any decision,” he said.

Fitzgerald added that he was not being put under any pressure, either by his partner Chloe or by his principal employer, Nicky Henderson.

“Chloe, who is going to marry me after all this, says, ‘It's your decision, it's your life and at the end of the day I'll support you in whatever you decide'.

“Nicky has always been very, very good. We have a great relationship. I love working forhim and I think he's happy with our relationship as a team together and it would be hard to walk away from that.

“I would certainly like to think I could always be involved in the Seven Barrows team even if it's not on a riding basis.”

Fitzgerald, who will return to see the surgeon on May 12 to ensure that his recovery is progressing along the right lines, recalled the incident at Aintree.

“The thing about a fall like that is you're coming down from quite a height and you hit the ground, with the impact it blacks you out momentarily. It's only when you come to that you realise the extent of the damage you've done, although nobody knows for sure until you've seen the MRI scan,” he said.



Courtesy of the Racing Post site.
 
Great to hear his recovery, however slow, is going in the right direction. He has clearly got some major decisions to make longer term but getting back on his feet and getting around clearly must be his first major hurdle. (excuse the pun)
 
Boxers who take too much abuse are forced to retire. Mick should be made retire for his own good. I hope he will come to that conclusion himself.
 
I get a feeling from all his pronouncements that the only thing which puts his retirement in doubt is his loyalty to Nicky H and his feeling that he'd be letting him down.

If only NH could find a replacement, it would help a lot to take the pressure off Mick imo. NH can't relay on getting AP as cover too often for his good horses, as he has in the last 2/3 weeks!
 
As most of the top jockeys are already attached to a top yard, you're either looking at another yard's decent number two rider (a Sam Thomas/Tom O'Brien type) moving to Seven Barrows 'on promotion' as it were, or someone like Barry Geraghty trying to do a Ruby and ride regularly on both sides of the Irish Sea.
 
From the Racing Post site :

Buoyant Fitzgerald sets October target


by Rodney Masters


MICK FITZGERALD said on Friday that he hoped to be sitting on a horse again “some time in September or October”, by when the injuries to his neck, hip and knee should be repaired.

Whether he will be seen in competitive action again on the racecourse remains a matter for the jockey and the medical profession to decide, but Nicky Henderson's number one rider is feeling considerably brighter this week for the first time since his second-fence fall from L'Ami in the Grand National five weeks ago.

“In the last couple of days I've felt semi-normal again, which is great,” he said.

“Before that, I'd be exhausted doing the slightest exercise. For instance, I'd go down the garden on my crutches and feel so tired when I got back that I'd nod off to sleep.
“Concentration wasdifficult for periods any longer than ten minutes, but that's improving considerably and I'm doing quite a bit of reading.”

Fitzgerald is soon to undergo a further MRI scan on the damaged cruciate ligament around his right knee.

He added: “Although it's uncomfortable wearing a neck brace in the warm weather, the ruptured ligament at the side of the knee is proving the most difficult problem. Although I am on painkillers, thankfully I am able to take fewer of them now.

“I've been advised it will take between four to five months for the knee to come right, which means I'd hope to be sitting on a horse again some time in September or October.

“People have been great, popping in to see me, and my wife Chloe and our sons are looking after me really well.”
 
So pleased that things are now going in the right direction. People that have been to see him have said he looked awful for a couple of weeks and understandable given what he has been through.

It will be great just to see him back on his feet irrespective whether he race rides competitively again.
 
Agreed. People underestimate how much anaesthetic you need for a 12 hour op - and Mick has had more than one op... That takes quite a while to get out of the system. It should be all good news from now on at least, and he's not the kind of man to try to push it faster than is advisable
 
I saw Brendan Powell tonight and he has been to see Mick and says he is getting about abit more now and was sat out in the garden enjoying some sunshine! :)
 
Good to hear. Last season featured a number of serious injuries to top jockeys but they've all done very well.
 
Has to have another op on his knee but is at the races for the first time since his accident at Newton Abbot today.
 
Sorry, instead of just "bumping" Mick's thread, I should also say that Brendan says that Mick is going from strength to strength. He gets to see him fairly regularly and it is looking fairly optimistic for his recovery. He no longer wears anything on his neck and has been seen at various race tracks recently and his knee is improving too.

Of course the question is always hovering about whether Mick will ever ride competitively again, and I suppose the answer is probably (for now), never say never.
 
He was commentating for atr at one of the jumps meetings in the last few days and looked remarkably well! Great to see, esp no head brace
 
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