Gardener hoping to make his comeback at European Cup
Posted Tuesday, 20 June, 2006
Sprinter Jason Gardener is hoping to make his comeback from injury at the European Cup in Malaga on 28-29 June.
The 30-year-old's season has been badly disrupted by a back injury that forced him out of the Commonwealth Games.
"I may be available to run in one of the 100m B races in Malaga and if it goes OK, hopefully I will be drafted into the relay squad," he said.
"There's still a little irritation and inflammation in my sciatica nerve, but I'm coping with it."
Gardener returned to action in the Golden League meeting in Oslo at the start of June but the injury flared up again and he failed to make it through the heats.
He has undergone intensive treatment at UK Athletics' high-performance centre in Loughborough and is happy with his progress.
"I'm not 100% fit yet, but I'm on the way back," he added.
"I'm back in training and already seeing improvements. It's been a frustrating time and there's no way I'm ready to race at global level."
The Great Britain and Northern Ireland squad for the two-day European Cup is announced on Wednesday and Gardener is hoping to make the squad, despite the anticipated return of Dwain Chambers.
And he is aiming to stake a claim for a place at the European Championships in August.
"Like most of the British sprinters I'm still a bit rusty and I need to get some races under my belt before the European trials next month," said Gardener.
"I always said the Championships were my major aim this year although I was badly frustrated when I got injured at the Commonwealths and it flared up again in Oslo."
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