Russian skater Plushenko warns of injury problems

Russian figure skating star Yevgeny Plushenko, who is currently competing at the European championships in Sheffield, England, said he might miss the world championships later this year because of injury problems. "I was ready to withdraw from competing here in Sheffield because of health problems," Plushenko, who won the European championship's qualification on Monday, told the press. The three-time world champion said he suffered a back injury on his arrival in Sheffield in addition to an ongoing knee injury. "There's a fifty-fifty chance that I will compete at this year's worlds, the 29-year-old skater said. "It's very hard to compete when you don't feel yourself completely healthy. That's why I want to undergo knee surgery once again as soon as possible. And nobody can say how much time I will need to recover completely after the operation. "I decided to compete only at one of this year's major events," he added. "And I hope I will be able to perform at the European championships here with dignity." Plushenko, the 2006 Olympic and six-time European champion, has not competed in an international competition since taking silver at the 2010 Vancouver Games. However, he was the star attraction at Sheffield as he was looking to test his form for a possible challenge at the 2014 Olympics during the European figure skating championships which get under way on Monday. Plushenko, who is still hopeful of competing in his home Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014, enjoyed a winning return to the amateur ranks last month by claiming a ninth Russian figure skating title. The world figure skating championships will take place at Nice, France, at the end of March.