Grand National-winning jockey Ryan Mania has admitted fears that he could have been left paralysed from his recent fall.
The 23-year-old left hospital yesterday following a fall at Hexham on Sunday, which left him with a fracture in his vertebra and ligament damage.
"It scared me more than ever," Mania told the Daily Mail. "It is a sensitive part of the body and I worried for my spine. I couldn't feel anything in my fingers. Or anywhere.
"For three or four seconds, I thought, 'I hope I'm not paralysed'. I moved my left fingers and I immediately thought thank God for that."
Mania's fall came just a day after winning the Grand National with 66-1 outsider Auroras Encore.