World of sport

Olympic sprinter James Dasaolu last night appealed for the public’s help to pay for vital surgery, which he says will save his career.

The two-time Olympian, who missed this year’s Commonwealth Games through injury, ruptured his Achilles tendon in training on Friday. Dasaolu needs to raise £25,000 if he is to have any chance of reaching Tokyo 2020.

“This is the biggest challenge I’ve faced in my career,” he said yesterday.

“I have been feeling great and fast, but just felt a pop in my heel in training on Friday.”

Rehabilitation from fully-ruptured Achilles tendon injuries can take up to two years, but advanced techniques can help reduce that to six-12 months.

Winter Olympian John Jackson had a similar procedure less than a year before the Sochi 2014 Games and made a rapid recovery. “The surgeon has told me I need a specific type of surgery if I want to have any chance of returning to top-level sprinting,” said Dasaolu. “That needs to happen in the next two weeks.”