By Nick Butler at the Main Press Centre in Glasgow

World indoor silver medal winner Katarina Johnson-Thompson has been forced to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games due to injury ©Getty ImagesEngland's heptathlon prodigy Katarina Johnson-Thompson has become the latest big star to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games through injury.


The 21-year-old had been in sparkling form this year, following her fifth place finish at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow with a long jump silver medal at the World Indoor Championships in Sopot in March. 

She then set a world leading personal best tally of 6,682 points to win the prestigious Hypo Meeting in Götzis in June, and put herself third on the British all-time list behind only the Sydney 2000 and London 2012 Olympic champions: Denise Lewis and Jessica Ennis-Hill respectively.

With Ennis-Hill missing the Commonwealth Games due to pregnancy - with her first child, Reggie, born last Thursday (June 17) - Johnson-Thompson had been set for a two-way battle for gold with the athlete who finished second in Götzis, Brianne Theisen Eaton of Canada. 

But she has been advised to give the event a miss having suffered a stress reaction in her foot.

"I'm absolutely devastated that I'm not going to be able to compete at the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow," said the Liverpool athletes, 15th at London 2012. 

"I was so looking forward to competing in another home Games and this time as one of the favourites.

"The Commonwealths was a key target for me this year and I was feeling so good in my preparation up until this week so this is a real blow."

Katarina Johnson-Thompson had been in sparkling form so far in 2014 ©Getty ImagesKatarina Johnson-Thompson had been in sparkling form so far in 2014 ©Getty Images



The heptathlete, who finished second in the long jump at the Glasgow Diamond League meeting with a superb personal best of 6.92 metres earlier this month, is still hoping to compete in the single event at the European Championships, to be held in Zürich from August 12 to 17. 

"All the advice is telling me that I risk long-term damage if I compete in a heptathlon in just over a week's time and I have to take that advice for the sake of my career," she added. 

"I really hope to be able to compete in the long jump at the European Championships next month but it doesn't take away how gutted I am that I won't be at the Commonwealths - particularly after all the amazing support I have already received."

Jan Paterson, England's Chef de Mission in Glasgow, added: "We are so disappointed for Katarina, to be in such incredible form coming into a major event and then to suffer an injury is a massive blow".

"Everyone in the team sends her our very best wishes for a speedy recovery and we hope to see her back on the track as quickly as possible and with no long-term damage."

Johnson-Thompson's exit follows the withdrawal of an even younger heptathlon star, 17-year-old Morgan Lake, who decided to join the British team in Eugene for the World Junior Championships rather than compete in Glasgow. 

Grace Clements, the Delhi 2010 bronze medal winner, remains in the team, along with Jessica Taylor.

It is also a further blow to the Commonwealth Games athletics competition as a whole, following the withdrawal of Jamaica's former 100m world champion Yohan Blake earlier this month, with the Jamaican also attributing his absence to injury concerns. 

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