Teddington's Commonwealth Games 5,000m silver medallist Jo Pavey has withdrawn from the British squad for the World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, Kenya, this weekend.

Pavey, the second finisher for the women's team who won silver at this winter's European titles in Italy, feels she lost too much quality training time as a result of a bout of flu that also ruined her efforts over 3,000m at the European Indoor championships at Birmingham, where she finished seventh after setting the early pace.

The 33-year-old is now back in training in South Africa and is focusing her efforts on the 10,000m this summer.

Pavey has yet to run a competitive 10k on the track and does not want to leave it until the summer to attain the qualifying mark for August's World Championships in Osaka, Japan.

She plans to have her first attempt over the distance at the European challenge meeting in Italy on April 7, where there will be pacemakers to assist her.

Her absence in Kenya means Britain will field only five runners in the senior women's race.

Meanwhile, another Teddington-based athlete, Briton Mo Farah, has been back in full training ahead of the World Championships after overcoming injury and illness.

The European champion hurt his hip and calf in a fall during a 3,000m heat in Birmingham and then picked up a virus.

His coach Alan Storey, the UKA senior performance manager for endurance based at St Mary's University College, Twickenham, said: "Mo lost a few days but he is back in full training and sweated through a hill session in 30C.

"He is not as fit as he would have liked but is determined to give a good account of himself in difficult conditions."

Belgrave Harrier Phil Wicks and Hampton-based Mike Skinner are also in the senior men's squad. Worcester Park-based Wicks celebrated his 23rd birthday last Thursday at the British training base in Durban, South Africa.