Leighton Levy, Star Writer

Sherone Simpson ... could miss 2009 World Championships. - Rudolph Brown

Olympic 100-metre silver medallist Sherone Simpson recently underwent surgery on her injured left knee and now waits to see if she will be able to attempt making Jamaica's team to the World Championships set for Berlin in Germany next August.

Bruce James, president of the MVP Track Club of which Simpson is a member, said yesterday that Simpson, who is at an undisclosed location overseas, has already begun rehabilitation work and perhaps by December it will be clearer if she will be able to challenge for a spot on Jamaica's team to Berlin. He said it was still way too early to tell whether she will be able to compete.

Simpson's coach, Stephen Francis, revealed recently on a local radio programme that Simpson, the 2006 Commonwealth Games 200-metre champion, injured her knee while training in Tianjin, China, prior to the start of the 100 metre heats at the Beijing Games in mid-August.

Nursing the injury and reportedly running in considerable discomfort, Simpson finished in a historic tie for second place with teammate Kerron Stewart in the 100 metres final that was won by her MVP teammate Shelly-Ann Fraser in 10.78 seconds.

Heavy favourites

Simpson, a sprint relay gold medallist in Athens in 2004, also made it all the way to the final of the women's 200 metres where she finished sixth in 22.36 seconds behind her teammates Veronica Campbell-Brown, who defended her title winning in 21.74 seconds and Kerron Stewart who ran 22.00 seconds for third.

She also ran the second leg in the favoured 4 x 100 metres relay that failed to finish the relay, although they were heavy favourites to win.

This latest surgery was the second such procedure Simpson has undergone in recent years. Simpson underwent surgery on that same left knee following her successful season in 2006 when she clocked the top seven-fastest times in the world in the 100 metres, including a world-leading 10.82 seconds as well as the fastest time in the world over the 200 metres, 22.00 seconds.

She recovered in time to participate at the start of the 2007 season but an injury to her right quadriceps muscle caused her to miss most of that season, including the World Championships in Osaka, Japan, as she was unable to compete for a spot on the team at the National Championships.