THE hopes of Kent athlete Charlotte Dale defending her European Junior Cross-Country title are hanging in the balance after she suffered a recurrence of her calf problems.

The Invicta East Kent athlete, from Whitstable, withdrew just after the mid-race point of the European trials at Sefton Park Liverpool last Saturday, after a repeat of the problem she had in Birmingham three weeks earlier.

She admitted afterwards: “I’m worried that I shan’t be able to defend my title in Edinburgh.”

Only the first three over the line in Liverpool were guaranteed places in the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the championships next month. But Dale was unsurprisingly still included when the selectors announced their team at a hotel in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old will continue to receive treatment at the UK Athletics Endurance Performance Centre, where she is based, at St Mary’s College, Twickenham.