CROSS-country international Peter Riley has had his 2004 Olympic hopes dashed by injury - but the Leigh athlete already fancies his chances for the event in Beijing in 2008.

The former Leigh Harrier missed the Olympic trials at Manchester last week due to a recurring groin injury he picked up while training on a bicycle in South Africa earlier this year.

And to top off a year of bad luck, Peter has now been told he must undergo an operation for a hernia, which developed as a result of the original injury, which will put him out of action for around six weeks.

The 25-year-old has to fund the £2,500 private surgery himself as he cannot afford to lose any more time out of athletics because of lengthy waiting lists for NHS operations.

Ranked among the fastest in Britain in the 10,000m event, Peter led the Great Britain team home with a 15th place finish in the European Championships last year.

He had hoped that this result and his standing as a member of the Great Britain squad would have guaranteed financial support from UK Athletics for the cost of the surgery, which he hopes to undergo in the next few months.

But he has been told he will have to fund it himself and has been forced to borrow the money from his family.

The former Bedford High Pupil, who lives on Mill Lane, said: "I'm disappointed. I've had a run of bad luck with illness and achilles problems and now this.

"I'm more disappointed about receiving no help than not making it to the Olympics, because it would have been difficult with the standards at the trials this year. I'll get my chance in 2008, when I'll be at my peak age for long-distance running at 29.

"I feel like I've been let down, but I'm more determined to get there next time and will definitely have a better chance in four years. That's what I'm working towards, in the 10,000m and maybe even the marathon."

Peter is also looking to enter the World Cross Country Championships in March next year, and the World Athletics Championships in summer, but says these events will depend on his level of fitness after the operation.

He said: "I hope I'll be back to my previous standard by then, and don't mind the training to get back in shape after the operation. It's just not being able to run in the meantime that bothers me."