Flora Duffy believes she is on the road to recovery after a summer of frustration while recovering from a foot injury.

Duffy was forced to withdraw from the final two races of the ITU World Triathlon Series because a tendon problem, which put paid to her hopes of becoming the first woman to win three consecutive titles.

After missing three races last season, including the Grand Final Gold Coast in Australia last month, Duffy seems to be on the mend after posting positive news regarding her injury on Instagram this week.

“It feels like I was banging my head against the wall all summer trying to figure out how to heal my foot,” Duffy wrote.

“The good news: the tear in my tendon is so much better! But now I am off to Stellenbosch for a continuation of summer and hopefully one with more running!”

The 30-year-old raced through the pain barrier several times last season, including her epic victory in Bermuda in April, which came just weeks after claiming the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

She also battled through pain to win in Yokohama, Japan, in May to put her at the top of the WTS standings before missing Leeds in June because of the tendon problem. Desperate to keep alive her chances of retaining her crown, Duffy raced back to compete in Hamburg in July, but suffered a significant setback to her injury during her tenth-place finish, missing the next race in Edmonton.

In a bid to hasten her recovery, the Colorado-based athletes has received a blood transfusion treatment called Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy — a substance that promotes healing when injected into damaged tissues.

It has been widely used by top athletes such Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova and Stephen Curry.

Duffy, whose injury has not interrupted her swimming and cycling training, revealed last month that hopes to finish her ITU triathlon career by bowing out at the 2021 Grand Final in Bermuda.

She told The Royal Gazette said she had expected to wind down her career after the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020, but has shelved those plans so she can perform her final race in front of her home crowd.

In Duffy’s absence, Vicky Holland, of Britain, became the ITU world champion after finishing second at the Grand Final. Katie Zaferes of the United States started the finale just 34 points ahead of Holland. She finished third in the race which was won by home favourite Ashleigh Gentle.