An ankle injury has forced Rosemary Ryan to withdraw from the Irish team for this weekend's World Cross Country Championships in Ostend, Belgium.

Ryan's absence will be a major blow for the Irish team in the short course race. She would have been the second strongest runner after Sonia O'Sullivan, but it now leaves the team well below the sort of strength that could have seen them bring home a medal.

No replacement has yet been named but Maureen Harrington, who was controversially left out of the short course team, is refusing to back down on her stance of pulling out of the team altogether. "I'm standing my ground," she said, "purely on principle."