LAWS SET FOR OPERATION, BUT STILL IN OLYMPIC PICTURE

Sharon Laws will have an operation either tomorrow or on Monday morning to repair a small crack in her fibula, a bone in the lower leg, following her crash in training earlier this week.

Laws, who had been pencilled in to ride as part of Great Britain's three-strong team for the women's road race at the Olympic Games in Beijing in August, fell when she hit a pothole while training near Abergavenny on Wednesday. Team-mate Emma Trott also went down but suffered only bruising.

After an initial visit to hospital it was feared Laws had broken a bone in her ankle but a sports specialist has confirmed she has a crack in her fibula and the bone has displaced slightly.

The 33-year-old is being treated under the British Olympic Association's medical scheme and will have the operation to reset the bone.

It is hoped she will be back on the turbo trainer within ten days of the operation and a spokesman for her trade team, Halfords Bikehut, said it was far too early to start speculating over whether the injury would affect her Olympic chances.

The national 25-mile time trial champion has time on her side as she bids to recover full fitness before Beijing. The women's road race is on Sunday, August 10 ? which gives her seven weeks.

Obviously, she will now miss next Saturday's National Championship road race.