Injury blow for heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson
The British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson has been forced to pull out of the Hypo Meeting in Gotzis this weekend with an ankle injury.
The 20-year-old, who finished 15th in the Olympic heptathlon event won by Jessica Ennis in London last year, was the only British athlete scheduled to appear in the international line-up in the Austrian town, which includes many of the world's leading heptathletes including the world champion, Tatyana Chernova, who took the bronze medal behind Ennis in London.
Johnson-Thompson, who has been labelled "the next Ennis", picked up a slight ankle strain while competing at Loughborough last weekend and, on doctors' advice, has opted to pull out.
She has already begun rehabilitation work and is expected to return to competition in Bedford next month as she prepares for the World Championships in Moscow in August. Her long-term aim remains making an impact at the 2016 Games in Rio.
Ennis, meanwhile, had already opted to miss the Gotzis event after marrying her long-term partner Andy Hill at the weekend. She will make her 2013 heptathlon debut in Tallinn, Estonia on 29-30 June.
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