Jockey Bryan Cooper faces a period away from the race course after suffering an injury at Punchestown on New Year's Eve.
The 24 year old Irish rider was unseated from Arkwrisht in the opening Beginner's Chase and was subsequently taken to hospital.
It was initially believed that Cooper's injury was not serious, but he has since announced that he has fractured his pelvis.
Writing on his 32Red.com blog, Cooper detailed that he did not initially believe the fall had been serious but confirmed the pelvic fracture following an X-ray.
"When I had my fall at Punchestown yesterday, I felt sore, but I didn’t think it was much more than that when I walked into the ambulance," he wrote.
"I didn’t feel that bad at the time, and I thought it was just a bang on a leg that I had broken before, and on my lower back.
"But the doctors at the course were keen to send me for an X-ray – so well done to them – and it was not a nice thing to find out last night that I had actually fractured my pelvis."
Cooper adds that he expects to miss the first two months of 2017, with a six to eight week recovery anticipated. He wrote that he will meet his specialist on Friday when he will know more about the injury and recovery period.
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