PHIL Blackmore is putting his feet up over the Christmas period - but it is an enforced lay-off for the Billington flier who is hoping an operation on his troublesome leg will see him return next season better than ever.

Motorcyclist Blackmore has been suffering with a varicose vein-like problem in his left leg, something he's had since a childhood accident, and a condition that was starting to threaten his hugely promising racing career.

He said: "It was when I was young, I tried to clear a barbed wire fence, as you do when you're a kid, but I didn't make it and I got tangled up. It tore quite a big gap out of my left thigh.

"Lately, I've been having problems with it and it got to the point when I could hardly walk after races."

But he went under the knife yesterday for the procedure, which saw the complete vein cut out from his groin in his left leg.

"I was supposed to have the operation on January 23, but the recovery time was three weeks," he said. "That would have meant I would have been rested until the middle of February.

"But by that time I've got to be doing pre-season testing. So I went to see them at the hospital and they said they could fit me in over Christmas, which is ideal because it's a quiet time of year."

And he is now hoping it will give him that little bit extra he needs to mount a serious challenge in the Derby Phoenix Championship.

He added: "I'm hoping it will be rectified as soon as possible so I can concentrate on racing."

And Blackmore faces a baptism of fire, with the provisional fixtures released for next season and the starting races on March 21 and 22 at Brands Hatch - a circuit he has never competed on before.

ggibbon@the-let.co.uk