BRYAN Cooper misses the plum ride on Death Duty in the Grade 1 novice hurdle at Naas on Sunday following the rider’s fall at Punchestown last Saturday. Cooper is set for at least six weeks out of action with a fractured pelvis.

Turf Club medical officer Dr Adrian McGoldrick said: “It is a such a rare injury, but the horse came right down on his pelvis.”

Cooper has been plagued by injury in recent seasons and only recently returned to action having fractured an arm in October. His latest setback will see him miss the Irish Champion Hurdle on January 29th, in which he would have hoped to ride Petit Mouchoir, and he will also give up the mount on Identity Thief should that horse run in the Irish Arkle on the same day.

Also on the sidelines is Conor Brassil who fractured ribs and suffered a punctured lung in a Fairyhouse fall on New Year’s Day. He will be out for four-to-six weeks.

Mark Walsh returns to the saddle this weekend having passed a concussion test on Thursday but Sean McDermott is still concussed and will be retested next Friday.

Dr McGoldrick had good news of jockey Andrew Lynch who has not ridden since incurring a complicated arm injury in August. “Andrew had surgery on December 20th and it went well. We’re hoping to get him back riding before Cheltenham.”

Martin Ferris has been laid up since suffering “a very nasty fibia and tibia break” in October and Dr McGoldrick will review his condition next week.