Olympic 100 metres hurdles champion Sally Pearson has been ruled out of this year's world championships after shattering her left arm in a "traumatic" fall at the Rome Diamond League meeting earlier this month.
The 28-year-old Australian, who won the sprint hurdle world title in 2011 and finished second behind American Brianna Rollins in Moscow two years later, had surgery on the injury in Italy but will require another operation on Tuesday.
Pearson feared she might even have to have her lower arm amputated when it turned blue soon after she sustained the injury, which doctor's described as a "bone explosion" in her wrist.
"I've never broken a bone, I've never had stitches or surgery before," Pearson told reporters in Australia."Doing all of that in one, in a different country, was very traumatic for me.
"But I do put things into perspective and think I am very lucky with what happened."If it had been the ankle, it would be a completely different story right now and I'd be telling you something different."
Real image and x-ray before surgery pic.twitter.com/PZf2orhrHX
— Sally Pearson OAM (@sallyp100h) June 15, 2015
