Bryony Frost is taking a break from race-riding to let her injuries heal and return fighting fit for the next season.
The Grade 1-winning jockey learned she had fractured a vertebra following an MRI scan. Frost, 27, suffered heavy falls at Ayr and Aintree a week apart earlier this month. The sportswoman was taken to hospital near the Grand National venue after she came off the Paul Nicholls-trained Thyme White.
It meant she missed the rest of the meeting and has not been in action on the racecourse since. Frost, also recovering from a shoulder problem, said: "‘As many of you will have seen by now, I’m not going to make it back to race at Sandown at the weekend, and just how long I'll be sidelined for is still up in the air.
"We need the full detail of the injuries to be collected and assessed, and then they can give me a timeframe and I can start to make tracks to recover peak performance."
Frost won twice at the top level during the current National Hunt campaign, on Frodon and Greanateen. She celebrated successes on the same two horses at last year's Sandown season finale, which takes place for 2021-22 on Saturday. This term her horses have earned almost £650,000 in prize money for connections.
"It's no secret that my season has been tough at times, but my 43 winners included two Grade 1 wins, and they were both the kind of real buzz moments which are unmatched," Frost told Betfair.
"Unfortunately the fall at Aintree came hot on the heels of hitting the ground hard at Ayr the previous week. They were two big falls, and although it's part and parcel of being a jockey they are never easy to take."
Frost said that her recovery will be helped by installing an indoor gym and current pool at her home. She has pencilled in another appointment with her specialist Geoff Graham, who will evaluate her shoulder diagnosis alongside Dr Jerry Hill from the British Horseracing Authority.
"I need to take it up a gear now, and getting to that higher level, both physically and mentally, is a big project. I’m particularly excited about the prospect of a current pool," Frost added.
"In the short term though I’m probably going to take myself away for a week or two once I’ve seen Geoff Graham again, because an essential part of the healing process is having a relaxed mind. The way I see it, if your head isn’t in the right place, your body won’t heal properly. The physical rehab will start after that - gently to begin with, and then gradually building it up."
