POOR Katie Ormerod.

Five years after her Winter Olympics debut was ruined by a shattered foot on the eve of the Games, the Brighouse snowboarder has been kept out once again by a horror injury.

Watching her friends and team-mates compete at the British Freeski and Snowboard Championships, aka the Brits, Ormerod was caught a little off-guard by the BBC, who approached her and were able to get the lowdown on why she has not been competing on the slopes for the last few months.

A mystery injury to the 25-year-old's left ankle, causing her significant pain, left her laid up in bed.

An old scar opened up, becoming infected, and Ormerod then had an allergic reaction to the penicillin she was given to treat the problem.

Other antibiotics only sorted the issue out temporarily, as the wound reopened again a few weeks later.

Doctors then decided to remove a metal plate that had been inserted into Ormerod several years earlier, thinking her body was rejecting it.

Yet, after being given the all-clear and starting her rehabilitation, the wound re-opened, causing her to fall ill once again.

She was eventually referred to a hospital in Liverpool, who diagnosed the cause of her recurring issues.

It transpired that a section of bone had died and become infected.

Ormerod had it removed and more antibiotics were pumped into her ankle, as she spent 10 days in hospital in the end.

That was at the end of March, but, fingers crossed, Ormerod is over the worst of it now, and her presence was most welcome at the Brits earlier this month, as she was spotted on crutches in a surgical boot.

She is finally able to plot her return to action, and told the BBC she hopes to be able to compete in Australia and New Zealand's winter season, which takes place in August and September.

The BBC detailed how the injury has taken a mental toll on Ormerod, as well as physically, and when approached by the T&A for a separate interview, she politely requested that we get back in touch at a later date, while she still tries to process everything she has been through.