World 100 and 200 metres champion Tyson Gay has developed a soreness in his groin from racing but will still compete in the London Grand Prix tomorrow, his manager told Reuters yesterday.

"There's a soreness there that he is going to have to deal with," Mark Wetmore said in a telephone interview.

Asked if that would affect Gay's plans for next month's world championships, Wetmore replied: "I don't believe so, but there is no need for me to speculate.

"He is going to race (in a 200 metres) on Saturday in London and we will have a lot more information after that."

Gay is scheduled to defend both his 100 and 200m world titles in the August. 15-23 championships against Jamaican Olympic champion and world record holder Usain Bolt in what should be the highlight of the Berlin competition.

"The problem has been that he has been sore after his races and it goes away after a few days," Wetmore said, noting Gay has run the year's leading 100 and 200 times with the problem.

"He is training with it and doctors have told him it should not get any worse with the number of competitions that he has," Wetmore said, indicating surgery could be an option if necessary.

"He is going to London to race... and I think it is important for him that he establish that this is something he has under control."

The American is also scheduled to run in Stockholm on July 31.

The soreness is the second setback for Gay this season. A knee injury cost him several weeks of pre-season training.

He did not make the final of the Beijing Olympics 100 metres last year as he attempted to come back from a hamstring injury at the US Olympic trials that knocked him out of the 200 metres.

Bolt raced to world records in both sprint finals.