Johnson to give Saturday a miss

Richard Johnson looks likely to sit out tomorrow’s action as he recovers from a bruised arm sustained in a fall at Taunton yesterday.

The rider, who is once again Tony McCoy’s nearest pursuer in the jockeys’ championship this year, was unseated from Terek at the third-last fence in the Monty Beaumont Memorial Novices’ Handicap Chase.

After receiving treatment on course, he was taken to Taunton and Somerset Hospital for further examination but was discharged last night.

“My arm’s fine this morning. It’s just bruised and sore but there’s nothing broken,” Johnson said.

“It’s just a matter of time now, it depends how long the swelling takes to go down, but I would say I’d definitely be unlikely to ride tomorrow.

“I’ll be seeing the doctor for a check this afternoon and then it’s probably just a case of getting some physio on it.

“Hopefully, I’ll be back next week and I wouldn’t think there’d be any doubts for Cheltenham.”