Walsh unlikely to be fit for Listowel

IT is unlikely Ruby Walsh will return in time for the Listowel festival, which begins on Sunday week.

Walsh has been on the injured list since suffering a crushed vertebra in his neck and torn ligaments in a fall from Friendly Society in a hurdle race at Killarney on July 12.

He missed the Galway festival, for the second consecutive year through injury, but was hoping to be back for Listowel.

Said Walsh: “The neck brace is off me, thankfully, and I’m hanging in there. The neck is feeling good and I’m going to have it x-rayed someday next week and that should tell me more. I’m not quite sure if I’ll be ready to return in time for Listowel. It could well be the week after, but it will definitely be at some stage in September.”