South Africa’s Olympic swimming champion Cameron van der Burgh is hoping to avoid surgery over a troublesome shoulder, saying the next two months will be crucial in determining how to resolve the problem.

The 26-year-old has been struggling with pain recently as a result of non-stop competition, his most recent being the SA Short Course Swimming Championships in Pietermaritzburg last week.

“It’s as bad as what you see,” he said.

“A lot of specialists and surgeons want to operate on it the first time they see it, but I’m taking the rehab route rather.

“For the next six weeks, I’ll try and relax, lay lower and do a lot of rehab on the shoulder. It’s more the irritation than the injury. If I can just get rid of that then it’ll be okay.”

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