Sergei Ustyugov finished the 2017 Nordic World Ski Championships with five medals ©Getty Images

Russian cross-country skier Sergei Ustyugov - seven times a medallist at the Nordic World Ski Championships - has avoided serious injury after a fall on the eve of this year's event.

Ustyugov sustained bruising to a shoulder and leg but will be able to compete, according to coach Sergey Turyshev.

"Nothing terrible", Turyshev said when discussing the injury with Russia's state-run news agency TASS .

Ustyugov won five medals at the 2017 Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti in Finland, including 30-kilometre skiathlon gold and team sprint gold.

At the most recent edition of the International Ski Federation's flagship Nordic event, Ustyugov was a member of the Russia team that finished second in the 4x10km relay.

Now 28, Ustyugov will be competing as a Russian Ski Federation athlete at this year's Nordic World Ski Championships in German town Oberstdorf because of World Anti-Doping Agency sanctions levied against Russia.

Sergei Ustyugov has secured a top-10 finished at four of six World Cup races this season ©Getty Images
Sergei Ustyugov has secured a top-10 finished at four of six World Cup races this season ©Getty Images

Ustyugov had COVID-19 in late 2020, which contributed to preventing him from taking part in any of this season's World Cup races until last month.

Two top-six finishes in recent World Cup sprint events suggest Ustyugov may be returning to form.

Ustyugov was among a group of Russian athletes banned from competing at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics even though they had never been sanctioned for doping.

The Nordic World Ski Championships begin on Wednesday (February 24).