Paul Townend, currently topping the jockeys championship, met with a setback in his bid for the title at Navan today when suffering a fractured left collarbone.

Townend was riding Indian Buck in the concluding Headfort Handicap Chase when his mount fell fatally at the seventh fence.

The Corkman revealed tonight that he suffered a clean break of the collarbone and expects to be out of action for four weeks.

A date with a specialist in Waterford on Monday will give him a better idea of the extent of the injury.

Townend would have been looking forward to partnering one of Willie Mullins' six entries for the Grand National at Aintree next month (April 9th).

He will now be in a race to make the Irish National at Fairyhouse on April 25th.

Townend currently leads Davy Russell (himself out with a fractured wrist) by nine wins (75-66) at the head of the jockeys’ championship.

It was later revealed that the Cheltenham Festival winning rider will have to undergo surgery to fix his collarbone injury. It is a clean break so the plate is required to pull the bone together.