Jockey Richard Johnson is said to be "comfortable" in hospital after undergoing surgery on his broken right leg.

Johnson sustained the injury after a bad fall from Lincoln Place in the feature race at Newton Abbot on Monday.

It is the second time he has broken the leg in 10 months.

He was taken to Torbay General Hospital for treatment and faces up to three months on the sidelines.

A hospital spokesperson said the rider hoped to be discharged later this week.

Johnson, who is currently second in the jockeys' table, broke the same leg in similar circumstances at Exeter last October but returned to action in January.

Lincoln Place appeared to have the win at his mercy but failed to come up at the final fence when asked by Johnson.

The horse flipped over in mid-air, catapulted Johnson to the turf and landed on top of him.

The fall horrified the bumper bank holiday crowd at the course.

Racecourse managing director, Pat Masterson, said: "It seems that Richard has broken the femur in his upper right leg."

On hearing the news, Tony McCoy, Johnson's arch-rival and good friend, said:

"All of my thoughts are with Richard, as it's heart-breaking for him, especially as the same thing happened to him last year but he'll be back."