By Gareth James

Melissa Courtney-Bryant has vowed to be in peak condition for next summer’s Commonwealth Games after admitting injury has denied her a chance to compete for a place at the Olympics.

The Wales 5,000m runner had hoped to challenge for the Great Britain team at the Olympic trials this weekend, but a ligament injury in her heel has ruled her out.

Instead, Courtney-Bryant has been left on crutches after the injury re-occurred when she was racing in France last week.

The outcome is a big blow for the 27-year-old who was third at both the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018 and the European Indoor Championships in 2019.

In a statement on Instagram she said: “Absolutely heartbroken to say I won’t be competing at this year’s Olympics Trials.

“After being injured during indoors, I did everything I could to get myself back running and racing again and I finally felt things were coming together in my last race in Nice.

“But unfortunately, at 200m to go, I felt a pop in my foot and was forced to stop the race in agony.

“It couldn’t be worse timing and I’m completely devastated but I know I did everything I possibly could to give myself a chance.

“Right now this hurts a lot but I love this sport so much and want nothing more than to be back healthy and fit racing around the track again.

“For now, I’ll be rocking a boot and crutches whilst the tear in my plantar heals and working incredibly hard to rehab this foot to make sure I’m ready for a very busy summer next year.

“Thank you to everyone who’s been there for me during this difficult time, especially to my coach Rob Denmark and my husband Ashley Bryant and my family; having a supportive team around you makes these hard times so much easier.”

It is the second time injury has prevented Courtney-Bryant from competing at a global event.

She missed out on the trials for the 2019 World Athletics Championships, again following a foot injury.