Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson facing up to six weeks out with hamstring tear

Keely Hodgkinson fears she will be sidelined for around six weeks and miss the rest of the indoor season after suffering a hamstring tear.

Hodgkinson, who won the Olympic 800 metres gold in Paris last summer, had already been forced to withdraw from her own event, the Keely Klassic, in Birmingham this weekend due to the injury but has scan has now revealed a tear, meaning a longer spell out.

“I had my last training session, that went really well, and just did some strides after training,” the 22-year-old Briton told Sky Sports News.

“The last one, I just felt this pull in my hamstring. Then I got a scan and it revealed a bit of a tear.

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“It’s going to be the outdoor season now, probably, until I do race again, which is a bit of a shame.

“Hamstrings are quite temperamental and they’re not to be messed with. I’m not going to be ready for a little while, unfortunately. Up to six weeks, it could be quicker, it could be longer, but it shouldn’t affect my outdoor season.”

Hodgkinson had been hoping to set a new 800m world record in her own race, which has stood for almost 23 years.

“I did believe that it definitely could have been done,” she said.

“Obviously, everything has to go right, it’s more than just what I know I’m capable of.

“The race has got to be paced right, you’ve got to get all that right and have a smooth run.

“This race was set up pretty perfectly to do so. I just had this image in my head of how well it could have been, which is really sad and it did make me really upset to not be able to put that together.”

The injury puts Hodgkinson in doubt for the World Indoor Championships, which take place in Nanjing, China, next month.