Laura Kenney has decided against undergoing surgery to repair a broken shoulder in order to compete in the UCI Track World Championships in Berlin from February 26 to March 1.

Kenney, a four-time Olympic champion, crashed in the women's omnium tempo round of the World Cup in Milton on February 26.

Kenney consulted a surgeon directly after the accident and, according to a BBC interview, the Tokyo Olympics were "ruled out." (Open in new tab)

"I told him, 'Surgery is not for me, thank you,'" she told the BBC. 'I want to have the surgery to fix it, but do you want to delay my being able to ride my bike for two weeks or do you want to wait and see ...... I decided to wait and see and the next day I was able to ride my bike."

Kenny will compete in both the omnium and scratch races at the World Championships, but will forgo Madison and Team Pursuit.

He also aims to defend his titles in the Team Pursuit and Omnium and compete in the Madison at the Tokyo Olympics, which will be held from July 26 to August 9.

"I wanted to get my hands on all three events in Berlin, but I'm not physically up for Madison and I can't do a standing start in Team Pursuit," Kenny told the BBC. It's a bit frustrating, but I never thought I'd miss the World Championships, and I know a lot of people in British Cycling thought I'd lost the plot."

"I'd like to think that if I'm as good as I was a month ago, I'll still be selected for all three events in Tokyo."

Kenny won Olympic gold in the team pursuit and omnium in London 2012 and Rio 2016. She is also a seven-time world champion in track events as a member of Team Great Britain.

After taking some time off following her pregnancy and the birth of her first child, Albie, she returned to racing at the 2018 UCI Track World Championships.

"I didn't sacrifice my time with him for no reason, and when I fell, part of me thought, there's no way I'm not going to the World Championships because I put in all this hard work and didn't leave all this time open for no reason.

"Now I'm doing it for Albee. I know I have a broken bone and I'm not stupid. But if I can ride, I will," he told the BBC.