Twice Olympian Ksenia Afanasyeva with the gold medal she won on floor at the Universiade last summer
Russia's most senior female gymnast, Ksenia Afanasyeva, is recovering well from an ankle operation, and expected to be ready to compete on floor and vault in May's European Championships, said Russian coach Valentina Rodionenko in an interview with press agency Itar-Tass this weekend.
Afanasyeva has suffered from ankle pain since well before the 2012 Olympics, and after a busy first half of 2013 the injury forced her out of the Antwerp World Championships. A first operation carried out by Russian doctors last year did not help ease the pain. 'We are very pleased that the second operation, done by German doctors, was successful', said Valentina.
First year senior Maria Kharenkova has also been mentioned as in the running for a place on the Europeans team, and in a February interview Aliya Mustafina also stated her desire to compete in Sofia (May 12th to 18th).
Good luck to Ksenia and to all the Russian team as they prepare for the Russian national championships (31st March to 6th April) and then Europeans.
Link to the report : http://www.sports.ru/others/gymnastics/158505663.html