Damien Oliver will be out of action for two months after he undergoes surgery for a hip complaint

Jim Cassidy has been suspended, Craig Williams is heading to Japan and now Damien Oliver too won’t be seen in action for an extended period.

Oliver is due to go under the knife in the coming days in an attempt to clear up an ongoing hip complaint.

He is set to be out of action for a full two months before returning to full fitness for the autumn carnival.

It’s not a serious injury and not even an essential operation however it will clear up some discomfort that he’s put up with for years.

“It’s nothing major. It’s something he’s been looking at getting done for a couple of years and now he’s got the opportunity,” Oliver’s manager Mark Van Triet said.

“It’s an old injury. He was booked in to have it done this time last year, but he decided to postpone it. This time he’s bitten the bullet and is going ahead with it.”

It’s a similar procedure to that which Nick Hall successfully completed earlier in the year.

“The plan is for him to have the operation and then take about six weeks to recover,” Van Triet said.

“He should be back riding work in the first week of January and then by mid-January he should be ready to resume (race) riding.”

Oliver goes out in sensational form after another highly successful Melbourne Cup Carnival.

It was headlines by Derby Day where he rode three winners including a pair of Group 1’s in the Myer Classic and Mackinnon Stakes.

By having the operation though he does sacrifice the good start he made towards the Melbourne Jockeys Premiership where he sits just three wins off the leader Luke Nolen with 17.