Gail Emms' hopes of an Olympic gold medal have received a knock with the news that mixed doubles partner Nathan Robertson has had to have an operation on his ankle.

Roberston, who underwent surgery on Saturday, now faces six weeks out, before entering the final countdown to the Beijing Games.

England head coach Ian Wright said: "There are foreign bodies inside the ankle joint and it needs to be dealt with.

"Our physios will go into the operation with him to monitor things and ensure any procedure will not adversely affect his recovery time.

"Nathan has been under-prepared for every tournament for the last six months. We were hoping he wouldn't need an operation before the Olympics but the medical opinion is that it is more prudent to get it cleared up and give Nathan peace of mind."

And there was further bad news for Emms with the Badminton World Federation confirming there will only be four seeds. Emms, with partners Robertson and Donna Kellogg, is ranked sixth in both the mixed and women's doubles and therefore misses out on a seeding in both competitions.