– We support participating in the World Cup now. “We may have to take the risk that injuries can come and get worse, because this is a big goal this season,” Thomas Torgalsen, who is a doctor at the Olympic sports center in Oslo, told NRK.

The World Cup in Eugene will take place from 15 to 24 July. Now it is not certain Warholm will participate in the championship.

– Now it’s about being rational and making the right choices to maximize your chances of getting ready for that important championship at the end of the season. I can only hope that margin is on my side for the foreseeable future. Time will tell what might happen in the coming days, weeks and months, Warholm said in a press release.

It also means that Bislett Games is smoking for him. Originally, he would have run the 400 meters hurdles in the competition on June 16, but that will not happen.

– We have decided that it is irrelevant, Torgalsen told NRK.

Warholm indicated that he should focus on recovering for a major championship.

– We’re facing an important season, and one of the highlights that I’m really looking forward to, is playing at the packed Bislett stadium. “I’m of course sorry that there won’t be a Bislett Games for me this year, but under those circumstances I had to be wise and make the right decision,” said Warholm.

In August, the European Championship in Munich is also in the program.

It was in the season opener in Rabat that he felt his thigh.

At the first corner, Warholm had to give up, and the 26-year-old limped off the pitch.

Experts think he will reach the World Cup

Torgalsen said that such an injury could keep him out for one to six weeks, while the average time is three to four weeks. In other words, it is difficult to give a precise estimate.

– That’s what’s hard with this injury. It can take a lot of time. As I said, you get to 80 percent (healthy) pretty quickly, whereas the last part of training for normal functioning can take a very variable amount of time.

NRK athletics expert Vebjørn Rodal has tested positive for Warholm. He believed that doctors should make reservations.

– In a healthy young body that recovers quickly, it could be very good to reach the World Cup, said Rodal.

– At the head of my sport, you always have to look for opportunities and not limits. “I think the chances of Warholm starting at the World Cup in Eugene are very high,” continued the athletics expert.

– Big minus for Bislett Games

But he acknowledged that the Bislett Games without Warholm would be a loss for traditional tournaments.

– This is a big minus for Bislett Games. He is one of the biggest draws along with Jakob Ingebrigtsen. We still have an interesting 400-meter hurdle, but without Warholm the distance won’t be the same for the Norwegian crowd, Rodal believes.

Warholm is considered the world’s best hurdler in the men’s side, and he holds the world record in the 400 meters hurdles with a time of 45.94. He broke the record when he secured Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021, in a close duel with Rai Benjamin.

Warholm already has two World Cup gold medals. One in London in 2017 and one in Doha in 2019.

Warholm this year continues to compete. He had originally planned to start the season at Bislett, but felt like starting a little earlier.

This resulted in maximum bad luck in Morocco.