Frankie Dettori has confirmed that he will miss Royal Ascot, after picking up an injury last week.

The 46-year-old suffered an arm injury in the paddock at Yarmouth last week, but it was not expected to be that serious and he rode in the French Oaks on Sunday.

But the lovable Italian – who had a number of big rides at Ascot this week – has confirmed that he won’t be competing at the Royal meeting.

“I’ve been trying so hard to get fit for today but had to accept this morning it wasn’t going to happen,” he said in a statement.

“I’ve got to have physio and get it properly looked after so won’t be at Ascot this week.

“For me that’s soul destroying as it’s the most important week of the year.

“I’ll be counting the days until next year.”

With Dettori out, William Hill believe that punters will become even more Ryan Moore centric in what could be a very expensive injury for the bookmakers.

“Frankie remains the most popular Jockey with punters and with him out, we can see a load of people switching allegiance to Ryan Moore,” said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams.

“With so many fancied runners this injury could cost us a fortune.”