Li Ya, who won a team gold medal at last year's world championships in Aarhus, injured her elbow in training last week and will be out for four to six weeks, China team manager Zhang Peiwen was quoted as saying in local media on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old, best known for a unique and highly difficult uneven bar routine she unveiled last year, should still have a chance of making the team for next year's Olympics in Beijing.

"During the preparation for Olympics, we will never give up on any gymnast," head coach Huang Yubin said. "Of course, we won't give up on Li Xiaopeng either."

Sydney Olympic men's parallel bars champion Li Xiaopeng is also a doubt for the championships in Stuttgart because of a toe fracture.

China will announce its squad for the September 1-9 world championships - the last before the Beijing Olympics - on August 9.