News29 Apr 2008


Injury to sideline Powell until late June

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Asafa Powell dominates in Brussels (© Getty Images)

World 100m record holder Asafa Powell has been forced out of action for two months with a chest injury, but his management team remains hopeful that the set-back will not affect his overall 2008 plan.

Paul Doyle, Powell's manager, confirmed that his athlete will not compete again until the Jamaican National Athletics Championships, to be held from 27-29 June in Kingston.

"The pectoral injury that he has is going to prevent him from doing intense training for a little while," Doyle said.

"He pulled a muscle (pectoral) in his chest."

Powell pulled out of last weekend's Penn Relays with the injury. Powell will also be forced to miss competitions in Doha, Qatar, in May and in Oslo and Eugene, Oregon, in June.

But Doyle said missing these meets will not affect his plan. "I don't think it is going to affect him much."

"The important thing is the races between the Olympic Trials and the Olympics," Doyle continued. "Those are the much more important races, so I don't think this is going to have much impact on it at all. If anything, it might keep him a little fresher."

Doyle also said Powell, who won bronze at last year's World Championships in Osaka, had earlier battled a knee injury.

"We think he needs to get more training in before he starts competing."

Powell, who lowered the World record to 9.74 in Rieti, Italy, last September just 14 days after his third place showing in Osaka, is currently doing rehab in Florida.

"He is doing rehab right now but he will be back in training, fully, in about a week," Doyle said.

Anthony Foster for IAAF

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