Jessica Ennis pulls out of grand prix to allow ligament sprain to heal

Britain's world champion heptathlete, Jessica Ennis, has withdrawn from the Birmingham Grand Prix this weekend after new scans on her right foot revealed it still needs time to heal. The 24-year-old discovered a slight ligament sprain in her foot last month after a scintillating performance in the 60 metres hurdles at the Glasgow Grand Prix. Subsequently Ennis and her coach, Tony Minichiello, made the decision to withdraw from last weekend's UK and World Indoor Trials as a precaution. Now she will miss out on Birmingham, too – where she had been expected to compete in the 60m ­hurdles and the long jump. This latest disappointment, three weeks out from the World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar, has left the Sheffield star feeling frustrated. "I am, of course, disappointed at missing the opportunity to compete in Birmingham," Ennis said, "but I know that being cautious is the best course of action. "The scans a week ago showed a slight ligament sprain and the advice was to rest the foot and take it day by day. New scans of my foot today show it has healed a lot but, with the World Indoors only a few weeks away, the advice from the UKA medical team is to give it a little more time to completely heal and focus on the World Indoors." She added: "I am really happy with the way my foot is healing, training has not stopped and Tony, my coach, will gradually increase the intensity with all the focus on Doha." After missing the Beijing Olympics in 2008 through an injury to her left ankle – the damage of which was done during her indoor season that year – the news of this latest development has, understandably, been difficult to take. At the UK Trials last weekend Minichiello explained how the ligament sprain had been little more than a niggle in training but, with the pair of them now more conscientious than ever about injuries, they had decided to get a medical opinion. The scan instantly revealed a problem. Though minor, it is a tough pill for Ennis to swallow, especially having started the year so brightly. January's European Women's Athlete of the Month had set eight personal bests in the first three weeks of the indoor season, and taken the scalp of the current world indoor hurdles champion, Lolo Jones, while setting a new British record over 60m. For Ennis the competition in Doha will be just as tough, with Olympic champion Nataliya Dobrynska having confirmed her participation in what will be her third ever world indoor final. Ennis defeated Dobrynska to take the world title in Berlin last summer and will hope for a repeat performance as the pair compete for the pentathlon title.