Cheltenham Festival: Daryl Jacob set to return from broken hip ahead of schedule after Oaksey House rehab

Daryl Jacob will be back in action at the Cheltenham Festival and is expected to make his comeback later in the week after a near three-month absence from the saddle.

The Irishman was taken to hospital when Caribean Boy fell at the first fence in the Howden Silver Cup at Ascot in mid-December and was later found to have fractured his hip.

With the help of the staff at Oaksey House, a rehabilitation centre for riders run by the Injured Jockeys Fund, Jacob has recovered from the fracture and was given the final green light on Monday morning.

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"I'm delighted to report that I've passed seeing the specialist and have the pieces of the jigsaw that I needed," he wrote in his Sporting Life blog.

"I'm very, very happy, it's been extremely hard work, mentally and physically, but I saw a bit of light at the end of the tunnel about a month ago so I put my head down and it's paid off thankfully.

"I wouldn't have made it back if it wasn't for the team at Oaksey House, they have been very good and we're just very lucky to have them."

Jacob hopes to have his first rides since the injury in the latter half of the week and will be reunited at Cheltenham with several horses owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, for whom he is a retained rider.

"Hopefully I'll be back later in the week, Thursday or Friday. It's brilliant as there's a lot of spring meetings now; Cheltenham, Ayr, Punchestown, Aintree," he said.

"I'm coming back a month before the schedule we planned so that's great, it's just lovely to be back in time for the Festival.

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"Simon and Isaac have been very good to me and very patient, it'll be great to get back and repay them for that.

"The horses have been running extremely well, it's going to be a busy end to the season for us, we've got plenty of ammunition and I'm very grateful to Oaksey House or getting me back in time for Cheltenham."