Radcliffe won't rush comeback

Paula Radcliffe has delayed making a decision on when she will return to competitive racing until she knows how well her foot has recovered from surgery.

The 35-year-old had an operation to remove a bunion from her right foot last month and is aiming to resume full-time training in the the next few weeks.

Although she is keen to attempt to regain the IAAF world marathon title she won in 2007 at this year’s championships in August, she will see how she recovers before announcing any plans for a competitive comeback.

Radcliffe is not prepared to race against the clock to compete in Berlin, as she did last summer when she battled a stress fracture in her right femur to finish 23rd in the Olympic marathon.

Gary Lough, her manager and husband, said: “Everything depends on how quickly things get back to normal, but everyone is happy with how things have gone.”

Radcliffe is currently at her home in Monaco but is expected to move to her high-altitude training base at Font Romeu in the French Pyrenees when given the all-clear to start light training.

The decision to have surgery was taken when the world record holder suffered a fractured toe in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the beginning of March, forcing her to withdraw from this month’s Flora London Marathon where she was eager to challenge for a fourth title.

The bunion is believed by specialists to be related to the cause of the injuries which have troubled her in recent years.