French world champion and triple Olympic gold medalist Teddy Riner announced that he must withdraw from the upcoming World Judo Championships due to his ankle injury.

Havana, September 20 (RHC)-- French world champion and triple Olympic gold medalist Teddy Riner announced that he must withdraw from the upcoming World Judo Championships due to his ankle injury.

"I was afraid of that, but the medical examinations confirmed that I will not be able to resume judo before a few weeks, which therefore excludes my participation in the next World Championships in Tashkent," wrote the 33-year-old athlete on his Twitter account.

The gold medalist under the five rings in the top category at London 2012 and Rio 2016 added that he does not want to take any risks ahead of the Olympic Games to be hosted by his country in 2024.

Now the next appointment is for the next World Cup, next May in Qatar, added the also summer team titleholder in Tokyo 2021.

Riner was injured in late August at a training camp in Rabat, Morocco, when a training partner fell on one of his ankles.

Initially the French Judo Federation deemed that the sprain needed 'a splint and the use of crutches for three weeks', so he could participate in the next orb joust, scheduled in Uzbekistan from October 6 to 13, but new analyses ruled out what was his return to a World Cup since 2017.