Gibbons misses Euros but aims for Commonwealths

London: Great Britain Olympic judo silver medallist Gemma Gibbons is set to miss this month`s European Championships but should be fit for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July.

Gibbons, who competes in the -78kg category, became one of the stars of the 2012 Olympics in her native London when she mouthed "I love you Mum" after winning her semi-final. The 27-year-old returned from a six-month shoulder injury to win the Northern Ireland Open a fortnight ago, but has since sustained an ankle injury. However, British Judo performance director Nigel Donohue is confident Gibbons will be fit to compete in Glasgow come July. "She will be fit and ready for the Commonwealth Games," he said Monday. "The selection for that comes at the end of April and we will adhere to whatever the selection is, but all I can say is she will definitely be fit. "That will be in the run-up to the World Championships in August as well, so she`ll be well into competition again by then." Commonwealth England officially picks the team for Glasgow --with the nations that make up Great Britain split into their constituent parts of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for Commonwealth purposes -- but British Judo sets the selection criteria and makes recommendations. Officials believe the European Championships in Montpellier, France, starting on April 24 will come too soon for Gibbons and that she is better off concentrating on the start of the Rio 2016 Olympic qualification programme, which begins in May. "The key thing is not to rush Gemma back," Donohue said. "We`ve got two years until the Olympic Games -- the qualification programme for Rio starts at the end of May, so we`ve decided not to rush her back and risk further injury. "Gemma`s working hard on her rehabilitation and she has a programme to make sure we get her back fully fit and fully healthy. She`s doing well."