Swim ace Ariarne Titmus will return to competition next month, some 12 weeks after having surgery to remove benign tumours from an ovary.
But Titmus has ruled out defending her world 400 metres freestyle title next February.
Australia is expected to send a smaller than usual team to the world championships in Doha, with some top-liners focusing on the Paris Olympics starting in late July.
Swimming Australia will finalise its team for the worlds after next month's Queensland championships, where Titmus will make a low-key return.
In mid-September, Titmus, the 400m freestyle world record holder, discovered the tumours on an ovary by chance when having an MRI scan on a sore hip.
“It is now 10 weeks since Arnie’s operation and I can tell you it has taken some time, we were slow in the recovery to make sure she was right,” Titmus's coach Dean Boxall told Swimming World magazine.
“This was a big operation and it took a bit of time but she is all good now.
"She’s so resilient … she knows what she needs to do.
“She will come back and swim at the Queensland state championships but I can confirm Arnie won’t swim in Doha.
“Arnie will just roll the arms over at Queensland states and I won’t be expecting anything, it's a matter of getting the juices going again."
Boxall had no doubt the surgery wouldn't impact Titmus's Olympic performances, where she will defend her crowns in the 200m and 400m freestyle events.
“Arnie is a smarter version of herself," Boxall said.
"She’s a celebrity, a big name.
"But she’s a way smarter and stronger athlete. She's not naive, she knows what she needs to do and she continues to become a better version of herself.
"We have not seen the best version of Arnie yet."
Swi
