Olympic champion Dame Flora Duffy could potentially make a comeback from injury in May if all goes according to plan.

The 36-year-old did not compete in any race last year having undergone rehabilitation from a long-term knee injury that was initially diagnosed as a tear in her patella tendon.

Despite of her ordeal, Duffy, the four-times ITU women’s world champion and two-times Commonwealth Games champion, remains committed to making a full recovery and potentially returning to competition and defending her Olympic title in Paris, France, this summer.

“Best case, if all goes well from here, is to start racing in May and Paris,” Duffy told The Royal Gazette.

Duffy is ranked 33rd in the most recent projected Olympic qualification simulation, with 55 spaces available at the Games. The deadline to pick up points expires on May 27, and if she is to race that month her options include the World Champion Triathlon Series in Yokohama, Japan, on May 11 or the World Triathlon Cup in Huatulco, Mexico, a week later.

The Bermudian, who is also a six-times Xterra Triathlon World Champion, has endured her share of challenges in the battle to regain fitness and get her career back on track, and in an interview with this newspaper in September she outlined her struggles

“My knee has been a huge challenge, not without me putting a lot of effort in and consulting with doctors and physiotherapists,” she said.

It’s been difficult to find the correct rehab pathway, but I think now I’m starting to get a better idea of what is going on with my knee and what the correct rehab is.

“As an athlete you always want to be out there racing. You have those thoughts of well. if this is the end then I wasn’t quite ready for it, and maybe I could have done things differently.

“That’s a scary position to be in. I set out knowing I’m only going to be racing short course for one more year and I’ve already been injured for so long, that’s a scary thought.

“However, I know I can’t dwell on things because things are as they are and so it’s been a constant shift of focusing my attention on the present and not worrying about what is down the road because I can’t control that.”