The popular Mancunian claimed silver at the National Championship in January 2010 but that medal came at a cost with Gayle badly injuring right knee ligaments.

A brief return to action at the British Open last September led to another lay-off.

The 19-year-old now heads to Innsbruck for the Austrian Open with a clear plan for the next 12 months before the British team for London 2012 is selected.

"Having missed out on the World Championships I'm obviously keen to get back into competition and I've been working really hard in training," Gayle said.

"I've had some great one-on-one sessions with Paul Green [Britain's high performance coach] and a lot of sparring with the team who have really helped me.

"I just want to get back in the ring now but will take it easy and just see where I am. I'll do the same at the Nationals and then I'll focus on winning the British Open in October."

GB Taekwondo performance director, Gary Hall said: "We are really pleased to see Jordan returning to competitive action following a long rehabilitation period.

"This is a good opportunity for him to get back into tournament Taekwondo and I am sure he will do well in a weight category which is obviously very significant for us now in the lead up to 2012."

Gayle is entered in the under 68kg competition on Sunday (June 5), a category recently nominated by GB Taekwondo as one in which Britain will compete at next year's Games.

Aaron Cook also competes in Austria this weekend and will be looking for a return to form in the under 80kg competition.

The European champion made an early exit from the recent World Championships in South Korea and will be keen to make amends when he takes to the ring tomorrow in Innsbruck.

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