Carolina Kluft has pulled out of the Swedish team for the IAAF World Indoor's pentathlon competition in a fortnight's time due to a hamstring injury.
Kluft, whose only world indoors gold medal success came at the 2003 championships in Birmingham, became aware of the problem when warming up for Thursday night's GE Galan meeting in Stockholm.
The 25-year-old felt a pain in her leg and, as a precautionary measure, withdrew from the 60 metres hurdles and long jump competitions.
Kluft underwent further treatment but on Friday, Sweden's medical advisor Doctor Sverker Nilsson declared she was unfit to travel to Valencia where the three-day championships will begin on 7 March.
‘There is a rupture of her right hamstring muscle but it is so small you cannot even see it on the MRI,’ Dr Nilsson said.
‘There is a little bleeding also and you can see the tenderness on the muscle. It is not serious and Carolina should be okay in a couple of weeks.’
Kluft's absence will bolster the chances of Ukraine's Lyudmila Blonska and Kelly Sotherton of Britain for the multi-event title beginning on the open day of the championships.
