After missing the Beijing Olympics this is a minor setback, says Jessica Ennis

SHEFFIELD, February 10, 2010 – Sport has a habit of giving with one hand and clobbering you with the other. From starting the year in the form of my life I spent yesterday at home with an ice pack and a mountain of frustration. That’s the heptathlon — it’s not natural for you.

I had an MRI scan in Leeds on Monday night and found there was a slight strain on the ligament that runs around the side of the foot. It is my right foot; the wrong foot; the one that caused me to miss the 2008 Olympics after I suffered multiple stress fractures.

Inevitably, that means it is a worry and some people will panic, but the doctor insisted the bones are fine. I have pulled out of the world indoor trials and UK Championships in Sheffield this weekend, a gut-wrenching decision because it is my home town but an easy one in the wider context.

I still hope to compete at the World Indoor Championships in Qatar in March and at the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham a week on Saturday. If I follow the precautions the doctor has suggested, my foot should clear up pretty quickly.

Strangely, apart from my big injury in 2008, I have been lucky with injuries. I was scarred when a glass panel fell on me when I was a kid at a fancy-dress party, but have generally been fortunate. I now understand that this is the heptathlon. It is incredibly stressful on the bones and body and I think I will have these niggles quite frequently. You only have to look back to the pictures of Denise Lewis struggling to Olympic gold, held together by bandages and Band-Aids, to know the strains involved. It’s a case of getting over them and moving on. Missing out on Beijing has given me the mental strength to do that.

The frustration is huge, though, because I was in good form with eight personal bests last month and a British record in the 60 metre hurdles. I also managed to beat Lolo Jones, the almost untouchable world indoor hurdles champion, in Glasgow ten days ago. I did not feel any problem up there, but looking back I think I probably strained it when I bombed out in my last high jump when going for another PB at 1.96 metres. The next day it felt a bit tight, but I went on to have a really good week of training and was running good times. The tightness lingered, though, and now that I have a history I knew I should have it checked out.

It’s disappointing and not ideal. I have felt better but I have been a lot worse. However, my mind was not flitting back to 2008 when I had my ill-fated scan. I had convinced myself everything would be OK and it all ended in tears. I was taken for a meal that night by Paul Dijkstra, the UK Athletics doctor, and my face was puffy and red from the crying. That was the end of a four-year dream; this is incomparable, a minor setback on the pitted road.

My coach, Chell [Toni Minichiello], is positive and upbeat. I have put the work in during the winter and am confident in my fitness and technique in all seven events. Chell will rejig training and cut down on the high-impact sessions and I will probably be on the bike for a few days. I won’t be staying at home moping, that’s for sure.