KAT DRISCOLL admits this has been one of the most frustrating years of her trampolining career, but the North-East Olympian is determined to ensure it finishes on a high at November’s World Championships in Florida.

After scans revealed cartilage damage to her ankle in the wake of April’s European Championships, where she claimed a silver medal in the individual competition, Driscoll was sidelined for more than four months as she was forced onto crutches.

She only returned to training four weeks ago, but after proving her fitness in a World Cup event in Florida, the 28-year-old, who is based in West Rainton and trains with the Apollo club in Washington, finished second in the British Championships in Liverpool last weekend.

That performance leaves her well positioned to secure one of the four places available on the British women’s team for November’s World Championships, and having been part of the squad that claimed the world team title last year, Driscoll is determined to secure some individual glory.

“It’s been a tough few months because I’m not used to being out of action for such a long spell,” she said. “It’s been a long road to get back from the injury, and even though I was joining up with the squads during the summer, I felt like a bit of a spare part because I couldn’t even get on the trampoline.

“There was cartilage in the ankle joint, and it was getting to the stage where it was really affecting my jumping so I needed to get it sorted. I suppose if there was a good time to be out, this was probably it because we’re still two years out from Rio and I haven’t had to miss a World Championships or anything like that.

“I went out to a World Cup in Portugal at the start of the month, and although I didn’t really know what to expect, I made it through to the final so that showed I was getting back to where I want to be. That proved I could compete in the British Championships, and given how long I’ve been out for, I have to be pretty happy with how they went.”

Leading after the opening two rounds of competition, Driscoll lost out to Sheffield’s Bryony Page in the decisive third round and eventually missed out on the British title by 0.050 points.

Both competitors posted scores that would enable them to compete for a final place at the World Championships, and Driscoll can expect to improve further with another month of training under her belt.

Nevertheless, having held the overnight lead in Liverpool, there was still a degree of frustration at being pipped by her main domestic rival.

“It’s mixed feelings I suppose,” said Driscoll. “On the one hand, I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to compete a couple of months ago so to get the scores I did was really positive. I was fairly happy with my performance, even though I accept my final routine didn’t go quite as I would have wanted.

“That’s satisfying, but the competitive side of your nature comes out when you’re in a final and I’m never going to be happy with finishing second. There’s definitely a degree of frustration at missing out on the British title, but I just have to keep telling myself that I’ve hardly trained all summer and there’s enough time before the Worlds to bring about some big improvements.”

With the British Championships doubling up as the first of two trials for the Worlds, Driscoll will be back in action this weekend at British Gymnastics’ high-performance centre in Lilleshall.

The World Championships squad has to be announced by October 3, with the top 24 in Florida progressing to the semi-finals before the field is whittled down further to end up with eight finalists.

Next year’s World Championships will form part of the qualification process for the Rio Olympics, with Britain hoping to secure two places at the 2016 Games rather than the one that saw Driscoll compete as the only British trampolinist in London.

Shaw, Laura Gallagher, Emma Smith and Amanda Parker will also hope to be involved in Rio, and Driscoll admits the strength of British trampolining means it is impossible to take anything for granted until the Olympic team is announced.

“In the past, you didn’t have to worry so much about making the squads,” she said. “But now that’s absolutely not the case.

“The rest of the girls are so strong that just making the team for a major championships is a challenge. People think that just because I competed in London, I’m bound to be going to Rio, but it just doesn’t work like that.

“All the other girls in the team have got much stronger since London, so I have to make sure I’m improving just as much as they are.”