Peter Charles, winner of the European show jumping crown in St Gallen, Switzerland four years ago, is definitely a non-starter for this year's championships, which start at Hickstead next week.

Charles injured a tendon in his ankle at the Hickstead Nations Cup meeting last month and was sidelined throughout the Kerrygold Horse Show. Although he is now back in the saddle and was named on the Irish squad for next week, Charles has had to abandon all hope of jumping at the Europeans following an injury to his championship ride Carnavelly.

The horse slipped up in the field last week and, while X-rays and scans revealed no broken bones, he is still lame. "I believe I could have ridden if I had to, but this has made the decision for me," Charles said last night from his home in Hampshire. "I didn't say anything when it happened because I thought the horse would get better, but I think he needs time now. I'll just have to forget about him until the winter shows."

The 39-year-old rider has been dogged by bad luck recently. His top horse Nustria died last month of a ruptured ulcer on its spleen. Charles had been gearing the Windsor Grand Prix winner towards the European championships and also had high hopes of an medal at next year's Olympics.