Australian swimming star Stephanie Rice is considering surgery on a troublesome shoulder that threatens to derail her build-up to the 2012 London Olympics.
Rice has been plagued in recent months by a swollen bursa in her right shoulder, with the problem forcing her to skip her pet individual medley events in a reduced program at this month's Pan Pacs in the US.
The triple Olympic gold medallist revealed on Tuesday the mysterious injury first appeared on the eve of the Beijing Games in 2008 and had worsened noticeably in the past two years.
"It's definitely something I've considered and I've looked down that path because it's been frustrating and I don't want to have to deal with this for the next two years leading into 2012," Fox Sports quoted her, as saying.
"I want everything to be on track for that. I've looked at it and had a few MRIs.. but I haven't made a yes or no decision on that yet because I'm just kind of seeing how it goes," she added.
