ROBBIE McNamara was the subject of another positive report from Turf Club medical officer Dr Adrian McGoldrick on Friday.

The 26-year-old jump jockey suffered serious injuries in a fall at Wexford Racecourse last weekend and is recovering from major surgery in Dublin’s Mater Hospital.

“I spoke to Robbie on Thursday and he is in a very positive frame of mind,” Dr McGoldrick reported. “He is back in the ward and has started his rehabilitation. He is out of bed every day and will be starting physiotherapy as soon as his gastro-abdominal injuries heal. It could be a month before there is another update on his condition.”

McNamara was riding in a hurdle race when his mount fell and the rider appeared to be struck on the ground by two other horses. Initial reports that McNamara was “sore all over” suggested he would probably miss the ride on Lord Windermere in the following day’s Aintree Grand National.

However, on Friday evening the gravity of the situation became clearer when news broke that McNamara had been taken to Dublin for emergency surgery.

Speaking to Channel 4 minutes before the Grand National, Lord Windermere’s trainer Jim Culloty revealed that McNamara had eight broken ribs, a punctured lung, had fractured his T11 vertebrae and had a haematoma pressing on his spinal cord.

On Saturday night Dr McGoldrick said McNamara was “very stable” post-surgery. “He is certainly in a lot better place than he was last night.”

McNamara is very active on social media and on Sunday night he posted a ‘selfie’ on Twitter from his hospital bed, saying: ‘Like to thank everyone for the kind words. Ribs and spine very stiff and sore but Op went well. Plenty of work ahead’.

The jockeys parents, Andrew and Kathleen, have spent the week in Dublin to be near their son. His father told the Limerick Leader: “I was watching the race on TV and I knew straight away it was a bad fall.”

Robbie’s cousin J.T. McNamara was left paralysed by a bad fall at Cheltenham two years ago. ““It’s not a patch on J.T.’s case, but that’s not a great consolation at the same time,” Andrew said. He added that the medical team are “guardedly optimistic” about the outcome but acknowledged that Robbie had a long road to recovery ahead.