It would take a non-jockey a whopping 38 lifetimes to rack up the same number of fractures that Ruby Walsh has suffered.

And that means you’d have to live to the grand old age of 2,763 to sustain the 15 career-threatening breaks and fractures the Cork jockey has survived.

The 41-time Cheltenham winner has had several brushes with death and broken almost every bone in his body, including his neck, in a career that has spanned nearly 15 years.

And it would take an ordinary punter a staggering 38.5 lifetimes to rack up the same amount of injuries, number crunchers at the Paddy Power Blog revealed.

The results are based on a combination of Ruby’s medical history and a prestigious University College London study which suggests that on average, members of the general public break 0.4 bones in a lifetime.

So that means it would take an normal non-jockey an eye-watering 2,763 years to equal his unenviable record.

But fearless Ruby said: “Jockeys don’t see ourselves as hard. We see ourselves as fair, tough, and honest.

“If you want to be a wuss, go and play something else.”

The champion jockey’s run at Cheltenham last March was cut short when he fell on Abbyssial in the Triumph Hurdle caused him to tear a rotator cuff that needed reconstruction surgery and months of rehabilitation.

The injuries Ruby Walsh has suffered during his career

But in classic jockey style, Ruby got back into the saddle early in the new jumps season to do what he does best.

His eye-watering list of injuries, which date back to the early days of his professional career, include a broken ankle, a broken right leg twice, a dislocated hip, a broken right hip, crushed vertebrae, dislocated shoulders, broken wrists, a broken humerus and a few concussions.

He has also lost his spleen in a career that has left him with as many wins as injuries.

But the pain factor clearly has never put him off.

Ruby previously revealed: “Injuries are a part of riding and when it’s not your neck or your head, you get over it.

“I love what I do but this time last year (2011) I was unlucky, I broke my neck in Killarney but that’s all part of it.

“As a kid growing up to go to work as a professional sports person, it’s a dream come true.”

One person who is concerned about the huge risks that go hand-in-hand with horse racing is Ruby’s wife Gillian.

She also previously revealed: “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get nervous, especially over the last few years because he’s had quite a few serious injuries.

“Nothing too serious but yeah, I do worry. You just hope it’s nothing life-threatening.

“But it’s a tough sport and you have to be physically very strong and mentally very strong.”