Callum Shepherd aiming to return 'at the end of next week' after riding with a fractured knee

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Callum Shepherd is expected to return to the saddle in the next fortnight after a fracture to part of his knee forced the jockey out of action.

The 28-year-old had been riding with the fracture in an attempt not to miss the first Classics of the season, but suffered a setback that has kept him off the track for almost five weeks since his last ride on April 16.

It marks another layoff for Shepherd, who was out of action for three months after sustaining an injury in a paddock incident at Longchamp in September, forcing him to miss a Group 1-winning ride on Bay City Roller in the Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern.

"He fractured a part of his knee," Shepherd's agent Nick Adams told the Racing Post. "It had happened before he last rode out. He thought he would be okay with it and we wanted to be back for the Guineas.

"It then niggled him again, so we had to take a bit of time off, and he was advised to rest for a couple of weeks.

"He's been off for a while, but hopefully he will be back at the end of next week and there'll be no worries."

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