I actually came away from this story a little more optimistic. The last piece I'd read about Bekele didn't mention him training at all, just that he was seeing doctors about his injury.
I thought about starting a thread after Edinburgh XC, when I realized that it'd been a full year since Bekele had competed at all. This is a slightly less sad occasion to talk about him.
Any early favorites for the WC 5000m and 10,000m, assuming Kenenisa doesn't regain full fitness by then? Tariku looked good in the DL last summer, but hasn't contended much so far this XC season - was well behind Komon in Seville. Ebuya is less reliable on the track than in XC.
As for the 10,000m - Zersenay Tadese is not running a spring marathon, that I know of, so worlds may be his focus. But he is apparently still battling the injury that left him hobbled at the end of the World HM championships in the fall. Maybe Moses Kipsiro will move up from the 5 to the 10? The other athletes who excelled in the 10,000m in the 2010 African championships might be tempted by spring and fall marathon paydays - I'm thinking specifically of Wilson Kiprop and Geoffrey Mutai.
Both races seem very wide open at this point. But I hope Bekele is back in time for Daegu. As defending champion in the 5 and the 10, he doesn't have to run any sort of qualifier or even be selected by the Ethiopian federation, correct? He could run his first race of 2011 at the championships if necessary?
Thoughts?