Dame Flora Duffy remains determined as ever to attempt to successfully defend her Olympic title next year despite revealing she is currently suffering from a long-term knee injury.

After becoming the first triathlete to defend a Commonwealth Games title in Birmingham last July, the 35-year-old started to suffer with knee pain, which scans later revealed to be a tear in her patella tendon.

That led to Duffy requiring a platelet-rich plasma injection, which uses a patient’s blood cells to accelerate healing, seven weeks before making her debut in the 70.3 World Championship in St George, Utah, in October, in which she finished a respectable fifth.

Just a month later and despite battling through the pain barrier, Duffy went on to rewrite the history books after clinching a record-breaking fourth women’s world title when successfully defending her World Triathlon Championship Series crown with a thrilling win in the grand final in Abu Dhabi.

To make the achievement even more significant, the decisive moment of the race came at the start of the third lap of the 10-kilometre run, as Duffy made her move, surging ahead of title rival Georgia Taylor-Brown to storm to victory.

However, glory came at a cost with the Olympic champion confirming those efforts only further added to her injury problems.

“I had to be very careful with my load to the end of November when my season ended,” Duffy said in a video posted on Instagram.

“I didn’t run very much. One or two sessions here and there. I was careful with the intensity and the amount of riding and swimming that I was doing.

“I was very amazed I got through the end of the season. However, during that time, I was making my knee worse.

“In January, it flared up really bad. It’s been a struggle to calm my knee down. There are now a few other things in my knee, which need rehab along with my tendon.”

The setback forced Duffy out of the start of the new World Triathlon Championship Series campaign, as well as hampering her ambitions of making the step up in distance to compete on the Professional Triathletes Organisation 100-kilometre Tour.

While she has been able to resume limited training since returning to her home in Boulder, Colorado, last month, Duffy admits to being frustrated by the nature of the injury as she continues her rehabilitation under the guidance of doctors and physiotherapists.

“It’s been a real puzzle to figure out the correct loading, as well as how much training I can do on the side,” she added. “There have been large chunks this year I haven’t trained just to try to calm my knee down and focus on my rehab.

“I’ve started swimming again, but not pushing off from walls, and doing a tiny bit of riding, which is quite frustrating.

“I have a good team of physios and doctors here helping me to progress.”

Despite her ongoing spell on the sidelines, Duffy is determined to make a return in time for the World Triathlon Olympic Games Test Event in Paris, France, on August 17, with motivation still high to defend her Olympic title in the same city next summer.

“I would like to be back on the racecourse for the Paris Test Event in August,” she said. “I just need to see how my rehab goes. I’m taking it week by week. I don’t want to push myself to get back.

“The Paris Olympics in 2024 is my big goal. As frustrating as it is, I must keep that in mind.

“I’m just trying to stay focused on my rehab and be very patient with my training, which is hard for me to do.”