Graham Lee’s pal offers replace on injured jockey ‘wanting ahead to Cheltenham’

Former Grand National winner Graham Lee cannot wait to observe the Cheltenham Festival on telly from his hospital.

The 48-year outdated jockey suffered life-changing accidents in a fall at Newcastle in November and is now within the James Cook Hospital’s particular unit for spinal accidents in Middlesbrough. He has been paid a go to by former Channel 4 racing broadcaster Derek ‘Thommo’ Thompson, who shared a snap of himself with a smiling Lee.

Lee, who is just rider to win each the Grand National and the Ascot Gold Cup, suffered an unstable cervical fracture which precipitated harm to his spinal twine when his horse threw him off earlier than the beginning of a race at Newcastle on November 10. He is getting assist from the Injured Jockeys Fund whereas receiving visits from buddies and colleagues, studies The Mirror.

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Thomson, who visited Lee on Wednesday, mentioned: “It was an absolute honour to see him. He has lost a lot of weight. He is down to 8st.

“He cannot transfer something under his neck. But he can speak all proper, his head’s okay. He is being very nicely sorted in James Cook Hospital and he mentioned the nurses have been completely good.”

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“He is obviously finding it very difficult coming to terms with what has happened to him. He said he has hardly watched any racing because he would probably miss it. But he said he is very much looking forward to watching Cheltenham which is good news.”

Thomson and Lee turned mates after working collectively on the Cheltenham Festival preview circuit. Thomson shared how upset he was when he heard about Lee’s dangerous fall, however seeing him in hospital made him really feel extra upbeat.

“When I heard the news about Graham’s terrible fall, I was in tears,” Thomson mentioned. “I like the guy a lot, he’s a pal. But when I came out of the hospital, I felt a bit better having seen him.

“This time final 12 months we had been doing a few Cheltenham evenings collectively so I instructed him I used to be reserving him for subsequent 12 months now for the preview evenings in 2025 so he has one thing to look ahead to. I really like him to bits as a result of he’s the one man who bought me to purchase him dinner!”

The racing world has rallied around Lee since the accident, with a Just Giving Page established by Amy Lee in support of the Injured Jockeys Fund attracting £200,000 worth of donations. A sponsored “Walk for Graham” can be taking place on April 14.