Luckless jockey Chad Schofield is expected to miss six weeks after fracturing two vertebrae in a fall in Sunday’s $15,000 Briseis Cup (1325m) at Geelong.

Schofield’s was dislodged and thrown to the turf after his mount Classic Charm clipped heels and fell approaching the 800m mark of the race.

It was initially feared that Schofield had fractured both his arms following the incident however x-rays and scans cleared him of any major damage in that area.

Victorian Jockeys Association president Des O’Keeffe said though Schofield did suffer a deep wound above his elbow it was a good outcome overall.

“The scans revealed two fractures that can be safely described as minor to his T7 and T8 vertebrae but he’s sitting up in hospital, is able to move and there is no surgery needed,” O’Keeffe said.

“Preliminary predictions are he is expected to miss around six weeks and he’ll have some x-rays and scans when he feels he is nearing a return.”

The fall continued a terrible run of bad luck for the 20-year-old jockey who was sidelined for two months in June after fracturing his T2 vertebrae in a fall at Cranbourne, before remarkably escaping serious injury in another fall in the Group 2 Racing.com Moonee Valley Cup (2500m) in October.

Schofield was also suspended for 27 meetings following an improper riding charge at Mornington in September and was again outed for 12 meetings by Racing Victoria stewards after pleading guilty to careless riding at Moonee Valley on Friday.

Thankfully, O’Keeffe said Schofield’s latest injury wasn’t at all related to his earlier back injury.

“The neck fracture he sustained in June hasn’t been destabilised by Sunday’s incident,” he said.

“It was in a different part of the back and he’s not required to be in a brace which indicates the doctors at Geelong Hospital are considering the fractures as fairly minor.”

O’Keeffe confirmed Schofield would have minor surgery to ensure the wound above his elbow was clean.

O’Keeffe said Schofield, the son of Sydney-based jockey Glyn Schofield, would have plenty of support to get through his latest setback.

“Chad’s a great young guy that’s happy to access all the support that’s around him.

“His parents have flown down to with him and they’re a great family that’s incredibly supportive.

“From our point of view we’ve got great resources in place to support him.

You can find out more about the National Jockeys Trust or donate via www.njt.org.au