Ask-Bob.com

Sir Chris Hoy intends to return to full training this week, easing fears that the triple Olympic gold medal winner would have to miss the world track championships in Poland after seriously injuring his hip.

Hoy had 275ml of fluid drained from the hip which was heavily swollen following the worst crash of his career at the Copenhagen World Cup ten days ago and reported afterwards that he felt “a lot better”, adding: “I should be back to full training by the end of the week.”

The hip took the brunt of the impact in the 40mph crash after Hoy collided with Kevin Sireau in the final of the keirin. Hoy was unable to ride his bike last week and withdrew from Saturday’s Revolution meeting at the Manchester Velodrome, though he did manage a brief appearance to pay tribute to his old rival, Arnaud Tournant, who retired at the event.

Hoy initially believed that the crash, which appeared to be the fault of the eventual winner, Sireau, would rule him out of the world championships in Pruszkow, Poland, from 25-29 March. Hoy is the defending world champion in the keirin and individual sprint, but will also target the team sprint, having completed the triple at the Olympics in Beijing last summer.

The emergence this winter of 19-year old David Daniell and the continued good form of Jamie Staff, Ross Edgar and Jason Kenny, mean that competition for places in the team sprint is tougher than ever. Trials for this event are expected to be held as close to the championships as possible – giving Hoy a decent chance of regaining any lost form – with the rest of the British team also expected to be announced as little as a week before the meeting gets underway.