Australia’s champion paddler Jessica Fox is uncertain when she will return after the “huge shock” of surgery denied her racing at a home world championships.

The three-time Olympic gold medallist had surgery to remove a tumour from a kidney late last month.

The operation ruled Fox out of the Slalom World Championships starting on Monday at her home course in Penrith.

“Obviously this has been a huge shock and a lot to digest,” Fox told reporters in Sydney on Friday.

“But once I got out of surgery and was in my recovery, it was pretty clear I wouldn’t be racing world champs.

“If I’m on that start line, I want to be ready and want to be at my best - and I had to put my health first.

“Digesting, for me, has been about processing the fact that it just wasn’t meant to be.

“But I still

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