Tasmanian Hall of Fame harness racing driver Ricky Duggan will be back in the cart in Hobart on Sunday night after spending three weeks on the sidelines as a result of a nasty race fall.
Duggan was rendered unconscious when the sulky wheel of a horse he was driving in a race in Hobart clipped a fallen horse that sent him crashing to the track.
He was rushed to hospital where scans revealed no bone damage but he suffered serious bruising and some ligament damage to his heel and foot as well as bruising to his upper body.
Duggan, 46, was off work for two weeks but returned to his role as groundsman with the Derwent Valley Council on Tuesday.
"I don't remember too much about the fall other than being hurled through the air and landing on one foot and then thumping head first into the track," Duggan said.
"I've had worse injuries from falls but none that have been this painful.
"I pretty much couldn't move for a few days and the pain was excruciating.
"I've still got a bit of a limp but I'm getting better by the day," he said.
Duggan resumes driving in Hobart on Sunday night where he has six drives on the seven-race program.
He has driven 50 winners so far this season and trails Mark Yole by only five so he remains a chance to win another driver's premiership.
"I think Mark (Yole) has the premiership in the bag because I don't go to Devonport meetings as a rule so realistically he will have a better chance of winning the title and that would be great for him," Duggan said.
One of Duggan's drives on Sunday is the Tony Petersen-trained Dapper Dana that hasn't started for two years but the gelding is reported to be working well and is expected to show up from his front-row draw.
Peter Staples