Injured Melbourne jockey Chris Symons hopes to be back riding by mid-January, four months after breaking his foot in a freak accident.
Symons was loading his gear into his car after a race meeting at Sale in September when he was forced to take evasive action when he saw a car reversing in his direction.
He didn't quite make it into the boot of his own car with his left foot trapped between his car and the other vehicle driven by a prominent apprentice on his L plates.
Symons underwent surgery last Thursday to remove a metal plate and said the prognosis was good for his return to the saddle.
"It's now just a matter of strengthening my foot and leg," Symons told racingvictoria.net.au.
"My ultimate goal is to be back riding in the middle of January in order to be ready for the Melbourne Festival of Racing in the autumn.
"I really want to be riding track work by the beginning of January so that I'm ready to rock n roll by mid-January but obviously I've just got to play it by ear and see how I'm progressing.
"The bone has knitted but it's just not back to 100 per cent yet so I'll be doing a lot of swimming and work on the exercise bike to just keep the pressure off my foot."
The popular jockey kept busy throughout the spring, venturing into the media.