As London prepares to host the 2017 Athletics World Championship, news has broken that the competition will be without one of the worlds most talented athletes.

Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse revealed in a statement via Facebook that he would not be competing in London, after picking up an untimely hamstring tear on the cusp of the meeting.

De Grasse won three sprint bronze medals at the Rio Olympics last year, before clocking a blistering 9.69 seconds in the 100m at Stockholm in June.

The 22-year-old was set to give sprint king Usain Bolt a real run for his money in his final race but will have to watch on from the sidelines after failing to recover from the injury in time for the championships.

De Grasse was understandably devastated to have to miss out on the London showpiece, but showed real maturity in a statement he released via social media.

"To my fans and my supporters;

"Earlier this week in practice, I suffered a hamstring tear that has forced me to withdraw from the World Championships.

"Injuries are a part of the sport, and the timing of this one is especially unfortunate. While I’m in the best shape of my life and extremely disappointed that I will not have the chance to compete for my country in London, I can't forget or be ungrateful for the successes that I've been blessed with up to this point in my career.

"Thank you to my family, friends and fans that have supported me all the way….. I'll be back stronger and faster than ever.

"But for now, Canada still has a very strong team at the World Championships. They are preparing to take on the world, and the focus should be on them."

It is incredibly disappointing that the championships have been robbed of what was being touted as one of the best races of recent years when Bolt and De Grasse took to the London track.

What makes it even sadder, is that De Grasse will never get another chance to best the all-time Jamaican superstar, who will retire after the championships.