Gymnast Joe Fraser on missing Commonwealth Games and fighting back from ankle injury

Joe Fraser is working on a more positive mindset despite his latest obstacle

Three months before a major event and you're crying in a hospital waiting for an X-ray wondering if your season is over. Doubts about your career even creep in.

It's not all glamour, medal ceremonies and showing off your latest clothes sponsor for a top athlete.

Gymnast Joe Fraser reveals the agony of injuring his ankle in training and his determination to stay positive despite missing out on the Commonwealth Games in Australia in April.

How is the 19-year-old Sky Sports Scholar from Birmingham coping?

I was so annoyed, especially because of all the training I had done for the Commonwealth trials.

I was really upset to start with and I was just crying - not because of the pain but knowing that all that hard work had gone just like that.

I was weighing up how long it would take for me to get back. It wasn't easy.

It all happened on January 12 when I was dismounting from the High Bar and I landed badly. I knew my ankle was hurting so I grabbed it and popped it back in. I didn't force it and obviously I went to hospital.

It hurt a lot but after 10 minutes I was pain-free which was strange so I wasn't too worried. My coach and I went down for the X-rays.

The ankle was dislocated at first but it's just ligament damage. I've got an operation next week in London and it'll be just day surgery so hopefully I won't be in there for too long!

We don't know how long I'll be out for and I'm just taking each day as it comes but I'm hoping to get back in time for the European trials around June.

I just want to make sure my ankle is as strong as it can be so this won't happen again. It's better to come back safely and not rush back and just get my rehab and recovery done properly.

I've had a few injuries before, like dislocating my finger and breaking my elbow. But this is the biggest one.

I'm really lucky to have team-mates who have had similar injuries and they are phoning me and telling me about how they got through everything.

The best advice I've had is to remember that all the rehab is really benefiting you and do all the right things to recover.

Some people could think really negatively about injuries like this and just focus on them being out for six months. But you just need to turn it into a positive as much as you can and that will hopefully help me get back.

I've been going to the gym every day for conditioning to keep my fitness up as good as it can be.

Something else I'll be able to work on is improving my skills at playing FIFA18 on the PS4. So it's not all bad!