Injured Alain Baxter may miss World Championships

BRITISH skier Alain Baxter is a doubt for the World Championships in Val d'Isere - throwing his chances of reaching Vancouver 2010 into further jeopardy.

SHORT-LIVED: Alain Baxter poses with Olympic bronze medal before it was stripped from him (Getty Images)

The 35-year-old Scot is due to head to Val d'Isere on February 10, along with fellow GB skiers Andy Noble and half-brother Noel Baxter to compete in the slalom events, which get under way on February 13.

But while the rest of the slalom squad is finalising preparations in Austria, Baxter is back home receiving physio treatment on a troublesome back injury.

And while Noble remains confident his team-mate will recover in time to compete in the French Alps, he admitted time is running out for the former 11th best skier in the world.

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"Alain hasn't been able to stay out here and train with the rest of us because he's getting treatment back in Scotland," said Noble, who is set to make his World Championships debut next week.

"He's due to come back to Austria at the end of the weekend but he's got a recurrence of an old back injury so he can't compete here with the rest of us before heading to Val d'Isere."

Baxter shot to fame at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he came third and claimed Britain's first Olympic skiing medal, only for it to be taken away after he failed a drugs test.

The decision by the IOC sparked great controversy as the substance, methamphetamine, found in Baxter's test was due to a Vicks inhaler - with the Scot unaware the contents were different to the UK version.

The Scot has never managed to reach such heights again, but remains Britain's most successful skier with a career best World Cup finish of fourth in 2001.

Baxter has slipped down the world rankings to 135 in 2009 and has only completed three races this season due to injury - depriving him of valuable World Cup points.

And with the clock ticking to Vancouver, Baxter hope's of achieving Olympic qualification will be dealt a severe blow if he does not compete in Val d'Isere, with SnowsportGB chief Mark Simmers only too aware that time is running out.

"His first aim has to be to improve his rankings in order to move higher up the starting order for each World Cup race," said Simmers in December.

"The road to 2010 for Alain has already started as the competitive season is fully under way.

"Alain is obviously very keen to get back onto the Olympic stage.

But his world ranking has dipped in the last couple of seasons due to a series of injuries, making it very difficult to qualify in the top 30 and the second slalom run at World Cup races."

GERARD MEAGHER