Jockey Nick Hall will know more on Wednesday whether he will be able to return to the saddle this spring.
The 28-year-old has missed more than three months of riding after he had surgery on a long-standing wrist injury in June.
The Caulfield Cup-winning jockey said the injury had been troubling him for some time and had got to the point in May where cortisone injections were no longer effective.
“I had bone graft in my right wrist due to a previous break which left me with a non-union joint,” Hall said.
“I had a cortisone injection three times earlier this year while I was riding but that only works a certain amount of times so it was time to get the operation.
“It’s now out of the plaster and I’ve begun physio but I’m having an X-ray tomorrow (Wednesday) so I’ll know more then.
“They need to make sure the joint has healed correctly before the wrist can be put under any pressure.”
Hall rode 51 winners last season at a strike rate of 14 per cent, including 20 at metropolitan level.
Meanwhile, jockey Brad Rawiller could miss up to three weeks after injuring an adductor muscle at Bendigo on Sunday. (www.racing.com)