Olympic bobsleigh pilot John Jackson looks likely to miss the start of the World Cup season after revealing his injury nightmare has resurfaced.
Jackson ruptured his Achilles in July last year only to make a remarkable recovery to pilot Team GB’s number one four-man bobsleigh to a fifth-place finish at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi in February.
Although it was hoped the treatment would solve the problem, physicians admitted at the time that they did not know what the long-term impact of the treatment would be.
And it would appear as though the problem has reared its ugly head again with 37-year-old Jackson tweeting: “Unfortunately back on crutches for potentially 6 weeks whilst my heel bone settles.”
Olympic brakeman Joel Fearon is currently suffering from a back injury and is also likely to also miss the start of the season.
However Lamin Deen – who piloted GBR 2 to 19th position at the Sochi Winter Olympics – is expected to recover from his groin problem and lead the team at the season-opening World Cup event in Lake Placid, New York.
Youth Olympian Oliver Biddulph as well as Sochi athletes Bruce Tasker and Ben Simons – who have undergone pilot training over the summer – will be in contention for the other World Cup berth.
Great Britain performance director Gary Anderson told BBC Sport: "If we want him to compete at the World Championships in March he has to have a period of treatment and rest before we go into the season.
"Jacko is an incredible athlete, but we need to look at how we manage this in the future."
© Sportsbeat 2014