Justin Snaith is on crutches with his right leg in plaster after having an operation to repair some horrific tendon damage.

The dual champion trainer, 44, said: “I tore all the tendons off the inside of my right leg – I have played a lot of sport and over the years I have done quite a lot of damage to my ankle – and I have had to have constructive surgery to get it all back the way it was.

“The operation has been a long time coming – I put it off for four months because I didn’t want to have it during the Durban season – and I then had to find the time to get it done.

“It means being in a wheelchair for a while and then I will be fine. I’m not sure when I will be back on the racecourse as I am concentrating on the horses in the yard for the time being.”

By Michael Clower