DANIEL Sliwinski admitted it was ‘every athlete’s nightmare’ when he found out that he will not be competing at London 2012 due to injury.

The 22-year-old from Preston – whose family come from East Lancashire – has been ruled out of the Olympics due to a shoulder tendon injury.

But Sliwinski, whose mother Christine Denton comes from Blackburn, has vowed to come back stronger and will do all he can to compete at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

The Stockport ITC swimmer suffered a shoulder tendon injury and will undergo surgery this week before beginning a three-month rehabilitation programme managed by British Swimming.

“It is an athlete’s worst nightmare. I have had a couple of injuries and I need to go back and rebuild the foundations,” he said.

Sliwinski had been selected to compete in the men’s 100m Breaststroke after winning the event at the British Gas Swimming Championships in March. He is also the British record holder over the distance and was also in the Olympic medley relay squad.

He was back in East Lancashire over the weekend when Preston Swimming Club – where he is still club captain – were holding a gala at Darwen Leisure Centre.

He added: “I am still young enough to think about Rio 2016, but I need to address this injury before it gets worse.

“I still want to swim for as long as I am physically able to and this operation will help with that. The important thing I need to focus on now is my recovery.”

British Swimming National Performance Director, Michael Scott said: “Our medical team and support staff will work with Dan through this challenging period so that he is in a position to return to the pool and challenge for a position on the senior team in 2013 and beyond.”