Josh Parr has been conspicuously absent from the riding ranks over the past couple of months with the talented jockey forced to watch from afar.

Unfortunately it wasn’t a holiday or even a suspension that has kept him on the sidelines, rather a nasty back injury.

In fact Parr actually broke his back in a fall over the spring period.

“I suffered a stress fracture to my L5 vertebrae (lower part of the spine),” he said.

While the devastating story of Kristy Banks has shown just how serious these sort of injuries can be, Parr has been relatively lucky.

He may even be able to jump back onto a horse within a couple of weeks after he gets the all clear from doctors.

That being said he needs to remain patient and not risk starting the process all over again.

“It’s been a very frustrating time, very slow healing process,” he said.

“Doctors warned me when I firs did the injury that it was going to be a long road.”

Even at this stage he admits he’s still a long way from full fitness and still limited in his activities.

“All I’ve been able to do is some really light physio,  Kerrin McEvoy put me onto a hyperbaric chamber which speeds up the healing process,” he said.

“I’ve pretty much had to lay around for the first month, just starting to get back into some light physio and some training again.”

With that description you can certainly understand the hesitance doctors have in allowing him back in the saddle, even if he is persistent.

“I’ve been trying to get back for the last week and a half, they’re not too keen on the idea they think it’s a little too soon,” he said.

While we’re all keen to see Parr back doing what he does best, we also hope he takes the time he needs to make sure he’s 100 percent fit.