A P-plate driver who used her mobile phone behind the wheel 44 times before running down a cyclist near Koroit has been fined $4500 and lost her licence for nine months.

Kimberley Davis, 21, of Grant Street, Port Fairy, yesterday pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court to dangerous driving.

She was originally charged with 47 offences covering each time she had used her phone.

The cyclist suffered a spinal fracture which required surgery and placement in a spinal cage at Melbourne's Austin Hospital. He was originally told he could be left a paraplegic and spent three months recovering.

He also suffered a broken big toe and lacerations to his head and body.