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Commonwealth Games double gold medalist Joshua Cheptegei will miss up to half of the current athletics season because of a knee injury, and says he regrets competing in two events in Australia in April. The Ugandan middle distance star traveled to the Netherlands for treatment on his injured knee earlier this month, and returned home on Monday. When he ran on the Gold Coast, winning the 5000m and 10,000m, he was already hurt. "I regret having forced myself to compete in two events at the Commonwealth Games. Running in the 10,000m final actually worsened the injury," the athlete told KweséESPN. "It is unfortunate that I will miss out on a season I have looked forward to," he added. Cheptegei withdrew from the IAAF Diamond League in Doha last month because of the injury, and is likely to miss most of the lucrative series. "It is unfortunate that Cheptegei has been asked to keep out of action by the medical team in the Netherlands and will now miss competitions for half of the season," Dominic Otuchet, chairman of the Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) told KweséESPN. "Cheptegei sustained an injury early in the year during the [Athletix] Grand Prix in Johannesburg. He had even opted to skip the Commonwealth Games, but later changed his mind. "His doctors advised that Cheptegi takes a rest so that his knee can heal. He will miss some Diamond League races and also the African Senior Championship to take place in Nigeria," Otuchet added.
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