According to Alpecin-Phoenix team manager Christoph Roodhooft, Mathieu van der Poel will return to cyclocross action only when he no longer feels pain from his back injury. Meanwhile, the Dutch rider's physiotherapist noted that after years of competing in multiple disciplines, his "body is paying the price."

After returning on Boxing Day with a second-place finish in the UCI World Cup in Dendermonde, van der Pol abandoned the Superprestige race in Heusden-Zolder the next day and was later diagnosed with a swollen disc.

It was announced that he would miss Thursday's Azencross and the World Cup in Hulst on Sunday.

"We are waiting to see how his back injury progresses," Roodhoft told Belgian news agency Belga. "He should be able to start training again, because if he can't, he won't be able to race. We are going to look at this issue dispassionately."

Van der Pol has been suffering from back pain since the MTB World Cup in Albstadt in May, which forced him to change his schedule for the second half of the season and as a result he missed the Benelux Tour and MTB World Championships.

He returned for several races in September and October, including the Road World Championships and Paris-Roubaix, but took four weeks off in October to work out his back problems. However, the pain returned on Monday, forcing the Dutchman to rest again.

"The back injury has been bothering him for a while," said the Dutchman. 'I don't think the fall at the Tokyo Olympics affected him, but I don't think it helped either. We're not worried about that because it's not going to get us anywhere. The issue has to be resolved and we will see what happens."

"The big problem is not that he has to miss the cyclocross race, but that Mathieu is not in pain. That nagging pain is preventing him from reaching his full potential. He can't train to get better and that is terribly annoying. We'll have to wait and see when he comes back."

According to David Bombke, Van der Pol's physical therapist, the problem is not chronic and is related to years of competing at full speed in a variety of disciplines.

"This is the result of many attacks on his body in the past, from mountain biking to road biking to cyclocross and BMX," Bombke told Het Nieuwsblad. His body is now paying the price."

Van der Poel was scheduled to run five races in January for the January 30 World Championships, including the Dutch National Championships on January 9. Now the remainder of his cyclocross campaign appears to be up in the air, with no guarantee that he will return before the end.

The big question mark is the World Championships in the US at the end of January, where Van der Pol was scheduled to win his fifth rainbow jersey.

"It is a little premature to look at the World Championships now, but of course there is not much time left," Bombke said.

"If you are going to compete in the World Championships, you have to be in good shape, and in my opinion, one month is quite a short time to be in top condition. I'm not part of the team, so it's not my personal opinion, but in my opinion, rest should be a priority right now, no matter how long it takes."