GRANT Hackett says his world championship campaign is still full steam ahead despite the re-emergence of the shoulder problem that caused him to miss the Commonwealth Games.

The 26-year-old Gold Coaster yesterday said the pain in his right shoulder had returned but he did not need more surgery to correct the problem, rather it was a case of managing the injury properly.

“It has been a little bit sore for me, just with the increased work load,” said Australian swim team captain Hackett.

“There is no reason why I can’t train as well, as hard and as long as I have done in the past — as long as I do everything correctly and work with the right people.

“At this stage, with the sort of injury that it is and what I have had, as long as I do everything correctly there shouldn’t be any problems. It is not like my shoulder is hanging off the side of my body, it is not like there is a big tear there.”

Hackett had an MRI scan on his troublesome right shoulder two weeks ago, which revealed abnormal swelling in the joint.

Subsequent physiotherapy sessions and cortisone injections have helped bring the injury under control, and Hackett is confident it won’t affect how he swims at the FINA World Championships in Melbourne from March 17.

“From what I swam at the (world titles) trials I have certainly improved on those performances, but how much I can’t really gauge at this stage,” said Hackett, who claimed gold in the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle at the December trials in Brisbane.

“I am right in the middle of a hard working phase and I hope to improve a lot more again from here.

“It never hurts when I am going hard. I probably feel it more in warm-ups and warm downs after you have used it quite intensely.”

Hackett had exploratory shoulder surgery in November 2005 after battling pain in his shoulder for 12 months. At the time surgeons found no structural damage and removed scar tissue. He was out of competition for six months making his return in May last year following the March Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

“Structurally it is still fine and there is no reason to operate on the shoulder,” said the dual Olympic 1500m gold medallist. “But there is bruising internally on my shoulder and it makes it hard for me to get into the range I want repeatedly for those sorts of kilometres I do (14-15km a day).

“There are always going to be things I am going to have to deal with and I am still focused on improving and moving forward.”

While carrying the shoulder injury into the 2005 FINA World Championships in Montreal in Canada, Hackett managed to turn in one of the most impressive performances of his career.

He claimed a record fourth straight world championship gold medal in the 1500m, gold in the 400m and smashed the world record on his way to victory in the 800m.

“You just have to deal with the little aches and pains that your body simply just doesn’t have to deal with when you are 15 years old,” said Hackett.

“I am not stressed about anything, I have been dealing with this shoulder problem now since 2005 and it is probably in the best state it has been in for quite some time.”

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