Buster withdraws from Bekele clash due to calf strain

World Cup 3000m champion Craig Mottram has pulled out of Saturday's Great Edinburgh cross country race after sustaining a calf strain.

Mottram's head-to-head clash with Kenenisa Bekele in the 9km race was expected to be a highlight of the meeting in Holyrood Park.

It would have been Bekele's first competition against Mottram since he was surprisingly beaten by the Australian as he retained his IAAF World Cup 3000m title last September in Athens.

Bekele, five times the world cross country long and short-course champion, will still have a tough fight on his hands against Eliud Kipchoge and Zersenay Tadesse.

Mottram is struggling with a minor strain which caused him to miss last weekend's Cross Zornotza Internacional event in Spain.

"I'm disappointed at missing the best cross country race in the world," Mottram told AAP.

"The field is loaded and I would have loved to have been there competing against the likes of Bekele, Kipchoge, Tadesse and the rest."

"Unfortunately though in these situations you have to look after yourself.

"I aggravated my calf muscle in Madrid on New Year's Eve so I'm going to get that seen to and then I will decide what to do over the next few weeks."

His coach Nic Bideau who is currently in Falls Creek at a training camp, did not think the injury was a major concern when he spoke to Athletics Australia Media.

"The injury is very minor but you don't turn up to face the likes of Bekele and co with any sort of problem unless it's a major championship," explained Bideau.

"We'll assess how he recovers over the next week or so and then decide whether or not he goes to the United States to compete in the two indoor races in Boston (3km - 27th January) and New York (mile - 2nd February)."

Reigning world short course champion Ethiopian Gelete Burka will return to Edinburgh to defend her 6.2km title in the women’s race. Standing in her way will be Anna Thompson, who finished fourth in Spain on Sunday, and former world cross country champion Benita Johnson who will be hungry to cross the line with her arms raised in victory after finishing second in her last two races.

Acknowledgements to AAP