Bulgaria’s Karlos Nasar, who broke two world records and moved to the top of the Paris 2024 rankings at 89 kilograms last month, told a television interviewer, "The back of my leg is all cut off," after emergency surgery.

His hopes of competing at the Olympic Games are far from dead, however, according to the Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation President Arif Majed.

"It was very, very unfortunate but I really believe everything will be fine for Paris," Majed told insidethegames today.

Nasar, 18, was taking a shower at a hotel in Sofia the night before he was due to appear at an awards ceremony with the Bulgarian Sports Minister Vesela Lecheva.

"He reached outside for some shampoo, pressed down on the sink and unfortunately it broke and fell on to his leg and badly tore his Achilles," Majed said.

"He was in surgery straight away and the doctors said he would need six months to recuperate.

"Let’s say it’s four months with the proper support… it’s all very unfortunate but he has time and that’s the important thing, I think he will be fine for Paris."

The Paris 2024 qualification rules and his place at the top of the rankings combine to work in Nasar’s favour.

Athletes must "participate" in a minimum of five qualifying competitions in a 17-month period that began last December, but they do not have to lift in them all.

A "participation" involves entering three months beforehand to be available for anti-doping tests, weighing in, and being introduced to the audience before the first lift.

Athletes who are not at their best can then withdraw without lifting, which China’s 73kg Olympic champion Shi Zhiyong has already done in his first two "participations", the latest one being the Asian Championships in Jinju in South Korea today.

In theory, Nasar could "participate" without lifting and - when fit - train right through to the Olympic Games in August 2024, because there is no way he will drop out of the all-important top 10 in the rankings.

When he won the continental title in Yerevan in Armenia last month Nasar put in the single best performance by any male lifter at the European Championships, claiming two world records in a total of 395kg.

Majed confirmed that whatever the state of Nasar’s recovery, he will go to Saudi Arabia in September for the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships to weigh in, even if it is in a higher weight category - which would not affect his ranking at 89kg.

Both that event and the IWF World Cup in Thailand next April are compulsory for all who want to lift in Paris.

Nasar told the TV interviewer yesterday, "There was a domestic accident… the back of my leg is all cut off.

"I'm better now, the operation went well, they're taking care of me."

It happened last week and the first days after the operation were the worst, Nasar said.

"Every single movement is painful," he admitted.

"It's hard to even brush my teeth and open my eyes."

This was the second setback for Nasar this year.

In February he was given a suspended prison sentence for driving under the influence of recreational drugs, trying to evade arrest, and driving without a licence last year.