Australia’s star signing Iain Jensen could miss the SailGP season’s first three regattas with a knee injury suffered ahead of the Perth event.
Competitors line up for the opening day of the SailGP in Perth.Credit: SailGP
The Olympic gold medallist has been told to prepare for up to eight weeks out of the water after he slipped and hurt his left knee during Thursday’s practice on Fremantle Harbour.
Only hours before racing was due to begin on Saturday, Jensen was officially ruled out of the Perth SailGP that begins the high-speed sailing’s sixth season.
The 37-year-old had left Great Britain this campaign for a first chance to sail under the Australian flag, after an earlier Olympic career that yielded a gold medal win in 2012.
Jensen was in good spirits despite the 11th-hour blow that has delayed his fairytale homecoming.
“I was joking with Tom (Slingsby, skipper) before, I said ‘I’ve never missed a race through injury or illness and I’ve sailed two days with you and I’m out for eight weeks’,” Jensen told AAP.
“Considering it’s only a couple of days after, (the injury) feels pretty good. I’ve had a lot of good support from the SailGP doctors and physios.”
Jensen is still hopeful of speeding up his recovery to take the water at the season’s second event, to be held in Auckland on February 14 and 15.
But if he requires the full eight weeks out, Jensen will miss that event as well as the Sydney SailGP to be held between February 28 and March 1.
