Dragulescu to miss worlds with back injury

BUCHAREST, Sep 3 (Reuters) Romania's Olympic silver medallist Marian Dragulescu will miss this week's World championships in Stuttgart due to a back injury, a Romanian official said today.

Dragulescu suffered back pain during training, Octavian Bellu, the head of the National Sport Agency, told Reuters by telephone from Stuttgart.

''Doctors banned him from competing after deciding he severely injured his back.

''Dragulescu's absence will be a great loss for our team,'' Bellu added.

Dragulescu, who won six gold medals at World championships on the vault and floor between 2001 and 2006, fell during the European championships earlier this year and doctors in Stuttgart have not ruled out a connection with the present injury.

''I'm worried for his medical situation,'' Bellu said, adding that his preparations for 2008 Beijing Olympics would be affected by the injury.

REUTERS TB AS1528