Greg Rutherford will not defend his Commonwealth title in the Gold Coast after withdrawing from Team England.
The gold medallist from 2014 cited a lack of a sustained period of training as the reason behind the difficult decision, having only recently recovered from ankle ligament damage.
The injury also robbed Rutherford of the chance to retain his World Championship title in 2017.
The 31-year-old recently showed he was back to jumping in training on twitter.
I haven’t jumped at all since June 4th 2016. I couldn’t be happier to be back in the sand today. 8 stride app. üëÄ pic.twitter.com/BUxx7GqG26
— Greg Rutherford (@GregJRutherford) January 9, 2018
However the games in April appear to have come too soon for the long jumper, saying in a statement:
“Withdrawing from Team England is not a decision that’s been easy for me to make. However, in previous years I’ve attended major championships without a good training block behind me and my performance has suffered as a result.
“I really would have loved to have been involved with the team. The Commonwealth Games have been brilliant over the years for me and my two medals from three Games have been highlights for me.
“I am planning on easing myself back into competition, possibly indoors, and then building to the summer season.
“I want to wish the team all the very best out in Australia.”
British Championships silver medallist and 400m Hurdler Jacob Paul will added to the team in Rutherford’s absence.
