TOKYO, Dec. 13 -- Japan’s star figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu will miss the upcoming national championships in Osaka due to a right ankle injury, the Japan Skating Federation said on Thursday.

It will be the third straight time for the two-time Olympic champion to miss the nationals after a similar injury and a flu prevented him from participating in the two previous ones respectively.

The 24-year-old superstar said in a statement that he had done everything he could and he was very disappointed that he couldn’t make it to the nationals.

The All Japan Figure Skating Championships, held from Dec. 20 to 24, will also serve as a qualifier for the world championships next year. But the JSF would probably qualify Hanyu in another way, according to local media.

Hanyu twisted his right ankle in a fall in practice on Nov. 17 at the ISU Grand Prix Rostelecom Cup in Moscow.

He was told by doctors that he would need three weeks of rest and one month of rehabilitation to recover.

Despite the injury, he won the Rostelecom Cup, his second Grand Prix title this season, but was forced to withdraw from the Grand Prix Final held earlier this month in Vancouver, Canada.

【体坛英语资讯：Japan’s Hanyu to miss national championships due to ankle injury】相关文章：

★ 体坛英语资讯：Zheng Jie knocks out top-seeded Ana Ivanovic at Wimbledon

★ 体坛英语资讯：Li Na wins as Peng Shuai crashes

★ 体坛英语资讯：Davydenko not worried about betting probe

★ 体坛英语资讯：Olympic basketball hopes in jeopardy: Yao

★ 体坛英语资讯：Beckham takes captains armband for friendly

★ 体坛英语资讯：Hurdler Liu to skip Golden League for Games

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Kylie is new face of Tous jewellery

★ 娱乐资讯：Jessica Alba joins US immigration debate

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Lindsay Lohan says rehab was sobering

★ 娱乐英语资讯：Hayden Panettiere stars in Got Milk campaign