Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 10:52 GMT
Injury wrecks Turner medal hopes
By Phil Jones
Britain’s leading sprint hurdler Andy Turner has been ruled out of the World Indoor Championships in Spain in March after rupturing a disc in his back.
The Commonwealth and European medallist suffered the injury during warm weather training in South Africa.
“It’s frustrating because I was feeling great. I really felt like I could get a medal,” he told BBC Sport.
The 27-year-old will be out of action for between two weeks to two months, depending how the injury develops.
At present, he cannot make the 11-hour journey back from South Africa, so for the time being he must stay there and have treatment from UK Athletics’s travelling medical staff.
“I can only stand up or lie flat on my back at the moment,” he explained. “I’m not allowed to sit down - not even to eat.”