Olympic diving champion Matty Lee will miss this summer’s Paris Games after undergoing spinal surgery. 

The 26-year-old took the Olympic title in Tokyo in the 10m synchronised event alongside Tom Daley, and won Commonwealth gold with Noah Williams two years ago.

But he has struggled with back pain this season.

Lee wrote on Instagram: “A week ago today I went under for a discectomy on my L5/S1 disc in my spine.

“The surgery went well but my surgeon told me my nerve was very stuck and it took longer than expected to remove my bulging disc without damaging my nerve.

“He also told me it wouldn’t have got better on its own so to have the surgery was the right decision,” he added.

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“What this means for me this year is self-explanatory which is very sad but the reason I look so damn happy in hospital is that I’m no longer in chronic pain, we’ve found a solution and I have something to work on.

“This season so far has been really tough, felt like I’ve been dragging myself through the dirt.

“In a weird way, I’ve been put out [of] my misery but it’s also forced me to look after myself and that’s what’s important.”

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Daley, 29, looks set to be the favourite to win another Olympic medal in the 10m synchronised diving in Paris after teaming up with Williams.

The pair won gold in the event at the Diving World Cup in Berlin this weekend.

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