Aliya Mustafina started her season in 2019 quite well, coming back to all-around competition at the European Championships and then winning gold at the Birmingham World Cup. She, however, decided to skip the European Championships in April in order to rest and focus on the European Games. At the Games, Mustafina would be the defending all-around and bars champion.

Today, Valentina Rodionenko has announced the Mustafina will miss the European Games due to injury. While she had issues with her elbow in April, the current injury is to her ankle:

“Aliya Mustafina will miss European Games in Minsk because of a leg injury. Her injury is not very serious, there was a partial ligament tear in her ankle at one of the practices in May and, in order not to have a complete tear, we decided not to risk it. She was checked by several doctors who recommended not to put a load on the injured leg for now. So, we made a decision not to send her to Misnk. We hope that nothing puts her participation in the World Championships in jeopardy. Anastasiia Iliankova will replace Aliya at the European Games.”

“Mustafina took missing the European Games well. She can already train in uneven bars but without dismounts. I think she will be fine by the Russian Cup. You need to understand that the most important competition of the year is the World Championships in Germany in the fall.”

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