Melbourne:
Australia's Olympic champion swimmer Stephanie Rice will battle through the pain of a shoulder injury to compete in the Delhi Commonwealth Games this October.
The 22-year-old will undergo a shoulder surgery after the Delhi Games.
"I'm not allowed to have any more (injections) because it starts to impact your shoulder and make it weaker anyway. Surgery is looking very possible at this point in time and I'm obviously just trying to put it off," Rice said.
But Rice plans to compete in Delhi before undergoing a surgery to be fit in time for the national trials for the 2012 London Olympics.
"It is only a clean cut, it's not a reconstruction," Rice was quoted as saying by 'The Sydney Morning Herald'.
"They say four weeks out of the water and a 12-week rehab, so it's not that bad, but I want to do it as soon as possible (after the Commonwealth Games) to give myself the right amount of time to prepare," she said.
Rice picked up the injury while competing in the ongoing Pan-Pacific Championships.
"That could be my meet done, but at the same time I hope it isn't because it is so much fun to be here and race," Rice said.
The triple Beijing Olympic gold medallist has had seven cortisone injections in the shoulder - three more than what doctors recommend.