Injured Ashley McKenzie cancels World Championships

Britain's Commonwealth champion Ashley McKenzie has withdrawn from the World Judo Championships through injury. The 26-year old Commonwealth and British Open Champion, was on the right track with a silver medal at the Grand Slam in Tyumen.

The World Championships in Kazakhstan begin Monday and provide ranking points towards qualification for the Rio Olympics next year.

"Gutted I had to pull out of worlds due to injury," McKenzie said on Twitter.  "But this will give me time to come back bigger, better and stronger."

London-born McKenzie added: "This is judo and accidents happen. I've got to look forward to going on to fight in the Paris Grand Slam and the Glasgow Open. I am disappointed in the outcome of me not competing at Worlds. I trained up to it, I done my best and this is judo and accidents happen. I've got to look forward to going on to fight in Paris Grand Slam and the Glasgow Open. Hopefully I get medals at them and my Rio dream continues."

It would have been the 6th World Championships for McKenzie since his debute in 2009 where he lost to the later World Champion Georgii Zantaraia.

Performance Director Nigel Donohue said: "It is with great disappointment that Ashley has had to withdraw from the World Championships through injury, but it is the right decision to safe guard the high possibility of risking a potential long term injury which could rule him out of Rio 2016. Ashley is currently in great form after recently winning last month's British Open and then following this up with a career best Grand Slam Silver in Russia the following week, but looking at the 'big picture', although disappointing in having to withdraw from a World Championships, this will give Ashley the time for the injury to heal in readiness for the Glasgow European Open and Paris Grand Slam in October to continue his journey to Rio."