Jim Crowley update: 'He's one of the horses who's getting me out of bed in the morning'

Jim Crowley provides an update on his recovery from injury and the horses he's looking forward to riding when he is ready to return to action in latest Coral blog.

My recovery has been slower than I’d have liked – I had to have another operation in March as the leg wasn’t healing as well as I’d have hoped – but that op seemed to speed things up and it’s coming along nicely now, everything is mending as it should be, and I’ve had plenty of X-rays recently to prove that.

The consultants are all very happy with things, so I’ve started to step up my rehab programme and work hard on my fitness. I’m doing most of the work here at home, I work with a very good physio so she’s a great help, and I’m out cycling every day.  I haven’t sat on a racehorse yet, I have sat on one of the pony’s here, and that felt fine, so I just want to get as fit as I can before I start riding out again, and hopefully that will be fairly imminent.

In terms of setting a date for my comeback, while there are plenty of meetings I’d love to be back for, I’m not setting a date in concrete, as I don’t want to be disappointed if I don’t then make that. Realistically though, Royal Ascot is the earliest I’m probably looking at, and clearly I’d love to be back for that. At the end of the day though, the surgeons will have a big say, and I’ll have to pass a medical and get the all clear from BHA doctor Jerry Hill, so there are a few hoops to jump through.

While things are definitely going the right way now, it hasn’t been easy. I’ve been active my whole life, and then obviously following the accident I was in bed for two months and in a wheelchair for another month, so yes it has been tough, but I know it could have been so much worse, so I have focussed on the positives. I think there’s light at the end of the tunnel now, and importantly, I’ve been able to keep busy again with the recovery process.

The team at Shadwell have been very supportive through all of this, and they are keen to see me back in the saddle, which is a great boost. I certainly think I’ve got a few more years in me, and when the time comes, I hope I can go out on my terms.

One of the motivating factors is seeing the nice horses running in the Shadwell silks. It’s not always easy watching other jockeys ride them, but as I say, I’m taking the positives, knowing I’ll be on them when I’m back.  I was at Sandown recently to watch Raaheeb, and like most people, I was really impressed with his performance.