COLN ST DENNIS jockey Timmy Murphy has been ruled out of the Cheltenham Festival with a recurrence of a shoulder injury.
The Grand National winner will need surgery after he suffered a second dislocation in three months as a result of an accident at home in Gloucestershire.
"The only light at the end of the tunnel is that he is going to have an operation," said agent Chris Broad.
"That's going to rule him out of Cheltenham, unfortunately, but he needs to get it right."
Murphy, 39, has had eight previous winners at jump racing's showpiece fixture, which will be held from March 11-14.
But his season has been marred by injury after he first dislocated his shoulder in an altercation with fellow jockey Dominic Elsworth, which saw him banned for nine days by the British Horseracing Authority.
Murphy won the Grand National at Aintree in 2008 on Comply Or Die, trained by David Pipe.
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