A week after being named in the flagship men's four for the World Cup season, and presumably for the Olympic Games as well, Tom James has been dealt a cruel blow after sustaining an injury in training that will keep him out of the first of the three World Cup rowing regattas, starting in Munich tomorrow.

James had taken Alex Partridge's seat in the four, which won 27 consecutive races before coming fourth in the World Championships last year, necessitating a rethink about the boat's make-up. The Welshman was part of the men's eight that came ninth in the Athens Olympics and had earned his chance in the more high-profile four on the back of some excellent training over the winter, but will now have to wait for the second World Cup regatta in Lucerne at the end of the month.

"Tom has picked up a minor problem so we're playing it safe on the medics' advice and have withdrawn him," David Tanner, the Great Britain performance director, said.

James's place in the boat is taken not by Partridge, who has been confirmed in the bow seat for the eight, but by Tom Lucy, a fellow Welshman who turned 20 last week. Last year, Lucy became the youngest British oarsman to compete in the World Championships since Steve Redgrave in 1981. Lucy, who was a world junior champion in 2006, had originally been named in the pair.

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