Bradley Wiggins could miss the Tour de France with a knee injury. Team Sky’s principal, Dave Brailsford, told The Guardian that last year’s Tour winner and Olympic gold medallist is a doubt due to the injury restricting his ability to train properly in the build up to the race.

The injury is an inflammation of the knee, meaning Wiggins cannot spend as much time on the bike as he would like, thus hampering his fitness at a crucial time. Brailsford said: "With these setbacks I can confirm that Brad cannot currently train properly and we are monitoring this situation carefully." Wiggins is not named in the Team Sky squad for Dauphiné Libéré stage race which starts on Sunday.

The injury is not related to a fall Wiggins had during the Giro d’Italia, a race which he had to drop out of due to a chest infection.

The injury has the potential to defuse a political problem within Team Sky, as Wiggins has made it clear he would like the opportunity to race for the yellow jersey again, despite the team making it clear Chris Froome will be their lead rider this year.