Australian head coach Craig Hilliard remains hopeful that 2012 Olympic long jump silver medallist Mitchell Watt will be fit to contest the upcoming Rio Games trials.
The 27-year-old national record holder has battled major Achilles tendon injuries for several years, ruling him out of the 2013 and 2015 world championships.
Watt made a welcome return to competition at two low-key meets in the United States earlier this year, raising hopes he would secure his spot on the Australian team for the Rio Olympics at the April 1-3 trials in Sydney.
He was due back in Australia earlier this week, only to delay his flight for a couple of days after feeling a slight niggle in his groin.
"Mitch is not quite 100 per cent but I've been in regular contact him and the hope is that he'll be able to compete in Sydney," said Hilliard.
"But after all that he's gone through it's understandable that he doesn't want to take any chances."
Although Watt's name was not included on the start-list issued on Thursday, there would be no issue adding him to the competition if he felt ready to jump.
World indoor and outdoor silver medallist Fabrice Lapierre is all but certain to claim one of the three spots on offer in the men's long jump for the Rio Games.
The hugely-talented Henry Frayne is also a contender, despite suffering yet another injury setback with an adductor strain last month in Canberra.
The field for the trials in Sydney also includes Darcy Roper and Robbie Crowther, but to date only Lapierre has bettered the qualifying standard of 8.15m.
The cut-off date for Olympic selection is July 12.
Hilliard said 2012 Olympic 400m finalist Steve Solomon was a certain starter for the Olympic trials after overcoming a longstanding hamstring issue.
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