Monday 21 January 2019 13:55, UK
Britain's top hurdler Andrew Pozzi will miss the entire 2019 indoor season after suffering a quad injury during a training session.
The injury (a muscular problem on the front of the thigh) was picked up over Christmas while the Sky Sports Scholar and 2018 world indoor 60m hurdles champion was back in the UK from his training base in Formia, Italy.
The initial prognosis pointed towards a minor injury with rest of seven to 10 days required.
However, the issue is more complicated than first thought and requires six weeks of rest and rehabilitation, meaning the 26-year-old will have to sit out the indoor campaign.
Pozzi told Sky Sports News: "This is really disappointing, but I'm back in Formia now and working on the rehab.
"It's been about three weeks since the injury so hopefully another three to five weeks more to be up and running again, but it does mean I can't compete indoors this season. I had hoped to race on February 6."
Pozzi is obviously frustrated by the injury with preparations for the new year having gone extremely well.
He moved his training base from the UK to Italy to work with renowned Cuban hurdles coach Santiago Antunez.
Antunez has coached two of the last five Olympic 110m hurdles champions - the 2000 winner Anier Garcia and 2008 champion Dayron Robles.
Pozzi has been pleased with the impact Antunez has had during the first few months of their relationship.
"After a great block of winter training I picked up a muscle injury that sadly requires six weeks to recover," Pozzi added.
"While the recovery is going well it's important at this point to manage this sensibly and ensure a full recovery is made for the future.
"It's extremely disappointing not to be able to defend my European Indoor title in Glasgow but I'm excited to watch my team-mates and training partners at what will be another fantastic championships in the UK."
While Pozzi will not race indoors in 2019 his rehab continues in Italy with the bigger picture in mind, which is challenging for a medal at the World Championships in Doha later this year and at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
