International raider Away He Goes has been ruled out of the Melbourne Cup because of injury, leaving star Sydney rider James McDonald in limbo about a Cup mount.

The English trained stayer was found to have a tendon injury at Werribee on Wednesday morning just before he was set to gallop.

McDonald had arrived to put the Ismail Mohammed-trained horse through his paces before being told that he was injured.

Paul Bloodworth, Racing Victoria’s International General Manager, said McDonald was disappointed, but there was no alternative when the veterinary surgeon examined the horse before he was due to gallop.

“The stable had asked the vet to be there and probably 15 minutes before ‘JMac’ arrived, the young lad who rides him each morning went inside his box to put some bandages on him because he always works in bandages.

“He identified some swelling in his tendon, and thankfully the vet was there, he went and got a machine and quickly identified that it was a tendon injury that requires long-term rest, and so he is unable to compete in the Cup.

“A tendon injury occurs over a period of time, you don’t usually know it is developing and then one day it pops out and you can see it. But at least it got caught in time and hopefully the horse will be all right after some rest.”

Bloodworth said the scanner at Werribee, which is being used to ensure that all Cup hopefuls are injury free, was expected to be back in action on Thursday after breaking down on Monday.