Mo Farah set for return after tough few weeks

The allegations against Farah's coach aired a week after his last race

Mo Farah will face opponents more than capable of causing him an upset in Lausanne (Getty Images)

It is six weeks since Mo Farah last raced, the outcome in the 10,000 metres of the Prefontaine Classic true to form as his finishing speed proved too much for the East Africans left trailing in his wake.

Farah would dearly love talk to return to his on-track prowess rather than the Panorama allegations against his coach Alberto Salazar, which aired a week after that race near his home in Eugene.

In Lausanne on Thursday he has the chance to do that, lining up in the 5,000m of the Diamond League event a week earlier than his anticipated track return in Monaco.

Farah might have opted for an easier return against a 5,000m field awash with athletes capable of upsetting the Londoner even at his peak, let alone following a month of being in the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

There are athletes quicker than him on the start line, notably the Ethiopian duo of Hagos Gebrhiwet, a silver medallist to Farah over the distance at the last World Championships and an athlete who get the better of Farah over 3,000m in Doha in May, and Yomif Kejelcha, the 5,000m world junior champion.

At 17, Kejelcha’s experience may yet count against him, but there is also the dual Kenyan threat of Caleb Ndiku and Thomas Longosiwa.

Quite what Farah’s state of mind is like is another matter. He forewent the usual pre-event media commitments by arriving late in Switzerland yesterday, his only comment since his Sky Sports interview last week was a short statement committing to this month’s 3,000m at the Anniversary Games in London.

Confirming his first race on British soil since his no-show at the Birmingham Diamond League last month, Farah said: “I can’t wait to run in front of a home crowd again and thank the British public for all their support.”