Gymnast Maggie Nichols recently underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and is out four to six weeks, U.S. national team coordinator Martha Karolyi said Sunday.
“She’s in rehab, and she has sufficient time to get back,” Karolyi said.
Nichols suffered a meniscus tear on an Amanar vault landing in training, according to multiple reports.
The return timetable could allow her to come back for the Secret U.S. Classic, a June 3-5 tune-up meet for the P&G Championships (June 23-26) and U.S. Olympic Trials (July 8-10).
The five-woman U.S. Olympic team will be named after the trials. The all-around champion at trials will clinch one of those five berths.
Nichols, an 18-year-old from Little Canada, Minn., is a favorite to make the Olympic team.
She was the only U.S. gymnast who competed in all four events in the World Championships team final Oct. 27. She earned a floor exercise bronze medal five days later.
Nichols opened her Olympic year by finishing second in the AT&T American Cup all-around behind Gabby Douglas on March 5.
Nichols was on the roster to compete at this past weekend’s Pacific Rim Championships but was removed last week due to a slight knee injury, USA Gymnastics said.
She previously dislocated her left kneecap in summer 2014.
Another member of the 2015 World Championships team, uneven bars gold medalist Madison Kocian, wore a cast with crutches in March for a left ankle injury but expected to return for the major summer meets.
NBC Olympics gymnastics producer Julia Fincher contributed to this report from the Pacific Rim Championships in Everett, Wash.
