Injury setback for Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill

Jessica Ennis-Hill has suffered a setback in her build-up to the Rio Olympics after being forced to withdraw from next month's prestigious Hypo-Meeting in Gotzis, Austria.
Great Britain's Jessica Ennis-Hill prepares for the Heptathlon, Shot Put during day one of the Hypo-Meeting at the Mosle Stadion, Gotzis, Austria, in 2015. (Picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire)Great Britain's Jessica Ennis-Hill prepares for the Heptathlon, Shot Put during day one of the Hypo-Meeting at the Mosle Stadion, Gotzis, Austria, in 2015. (Picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire)
Great Britain's Jessica Ennis-Hill prepares for the Heptathlon, Shot Put during day one of the Hypo-Meeting at the Mosle Stadion, Gotzis, Austria, in 2015. (Picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire)

The 30-year-old has not sufficiently recovered from a recurrence of her long-standing Achilles problem which saw her withdraw from the World Indoor Championships in Portland in March.

Ennis-Hill had been hoping to use the Gotzis event - one of the most important on the heptathlon calendar - as a means of assessing her own form and that of her rivals in the run-up to Rio.

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It is the latest injury setback for Ennis-Hill since she returned to competition following the birth of her son last season, having torn a calf muscle in the process of winning the World Championship in Beijing in 2015.

However, it will not unduly affect her hopes of reaching Rio, given that she has already achieved enough points over the course of the year to ensure she will qualify to defend her title.

Fellow Britons Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Morgan Lake are both set to compete in Gotzis as they bid to achieve the qualifying standard required to join Ennis-Hill in Rio.