Elliott riders in the wars as Kennedy pushes back return date and Gainford and O'Sullivan suffer injuries

Gordon Elliott will not have a full roster of jockeys to draw upon for a while yet with Jordan Gainford and Michael O'Sullivan freshly sidelined and Jack Kennedy delaying his return from a broken leg.

Kennedy fractured his leg for a fifth time when breaking his tibia and fibula at Naas in January, prompting Davy Russell's brief return from retirement. Kennedy was due to resume this week, but the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board's chief medical medical officer Dr Jennifer Pugh explained that a decision was made to give him a bit longer.

"Jack has been passed fit but a decision was agreed after a discussion with his orthopaedic surgeon Dr Paddy Kenny for him to give himself a bit more time," said Pugh. 

"The bone has healed and everything is good but, given the serious nature of the fracture and his injury record over the past couple of years, it was felt that it would be prudent to give him a bit more time to strengthen it up further. There has been no complication and his leg is in good shape but it was felt it wasn't worth the risk just to come back for the week when he would benefit from giving it a little more time."

Gainford hadn't ridden since Cheltenham until resuming at Punchestown on Tuesday. He won on his first ride back when guiding Shecouldbeanything to victory for Elliott, but was unseated from Perfect Attitude on Wednesday. He was replaced by Darragh O'Keeffe on Teahuphoo in the Stayers Hurdle on Thursday and will not take up his booked rides on Riviere D'Etel and Zanahiyr at Punchestown on Friday, and it is unclear at this stage how long he will be sidelined for.

"Jordan is a bit shook up and sore after his fall," said Pugh. "He'll be reassessed at the end of the week so we'll see how he is then and go from there."

Elliott has been utilising the services of rising star O'Sullivan in recent weeks, but the 23-year-old will now also be out for a couple of months after falling from the trainer's Zaidi at Kilbeggan last Friday.

Michael O'Sullivan: could be out until JulyCredit: Lorraine O'Sullivan

O'Sullivan has enjoyed a breakout season with three Grade 1 wins, including Marine Nationale's brilliant Supreme Novices' Hurdle success at Cheltenham, and Barry Connell's retained rider will be crowned champion conditional jockey on Saturday.

"I broke my right collarbone at Kilbeggan," said O'Sullivan. "I've done my left one before a few times so the good one has gone this time. I'll miss May and then there is a two-week break in June. The remaining two weeks is restricted to riders who have ridden 15 winners or less, so I will probably return in July."

He added: "I had surgery on Wednesday morning, which was fairly straightforward. Dr Paddy Kenny put a little plate in it and he is happy with it. Obviously it's disappointing to be missing this week, but it could be worse. A lot of our winter horses have gone out to the fields and Marine Nationale didn't run on Tuesday, so at least I didn't miss something like that."

Read these next:

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