INTERNATIONAL runner Robert Tobin believes his recovery from injury is complete and that the 400 metres at this weekend's world championship trials will be a well-matched contest.

The AAA championships in Manchester, which double as the world trials, will see the 23-year-old's first domestic outdoor run of the season.

His build-up over the last four weeks has had to be carefully programmed after two months out because of a back injury, which had a knock-on effect in his legs.

From walking in pain, he is now back to near his competitive best, he believes.

On Wednesday, he completed his final training session with coach Todd Bennett after a good weights session the day before at Brunel University.

Tobin, who made the British team at the 2005 world championships, said: "My recovery has gone well. I'm in reasonable shape and I'm looking forward to it."

He believes his one-lap contest is wide open, with former UK number one Tim Benjamin dismissing coach Colin Jackson only last week.

"We're all running more or less the same time," said the Basingstoke and Mid-Hants star, whose goal for the season is to run in the world championships in Osaka.

Tobin will be joined in the 400m in Manchester by two Basingstoke clubmates, Scottish champion Mark Berridge and new Welsh title holder Andy Blow. All three could come through tonight's heats into the semi-finals tomorrow.

Barring disasters, Tobin should be in Sunday's final and in contention for both a medal and a plane ticket to Japan.

He believes that the form he showed indoors at the beginning of the year will be sufficient to get him through.

His 46.07sec run at the Norwich Union Grand Prix at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham in February puts him fifth in the UK rankings behind Andrew Steele, Benjamin, Martyn Rooney and Daniel Caines.

Former Robert May's schoolboy Tobin continued his winter indoor successes with an individual bronze medal at the European indoor championships and a relay gold in Birmingham in March.

The former European under-23 champion is not concerned that his outdoor best was set in Geneva two years ago.

"In the last four weeks my training times have been coming down and I'm now running quite quickly," he said. "The first two weeks we concentrated on endurance work. Now we are trying to get some speed back into my legs."

Last year he was a Commonwealth Games and European championship semi-finalist and he also returned from Gothenburg with a relay silver medal.

  • Charlie Purdue has pulled out of this weekend's world trials. The 16-year-old from Hook is still suffering the after-effects of a heavy cold that hit her performance in last weekend's European under-20 championships in Holland.

She said: "I enjoyed the experience but I didn't run well.

"I developed a cold on the Wednesday before the race and I couldn't breathe, although my legs were okay.

"I just wish I could have done better because my PB would have given me third place."

The Aldershot, Farnham and District runner will now concentrate on the British Milers Club grand prix final at Crystal Palace a week today, when she runs the 3,000m.