The 37-year-old world marathon record holder required immediate hospital treatment after being bitten on the calf by a dog she encountered on a training run this morning near her home in Monaco.

Radcliffe wrote on her Twitter site: "Spent part of the morning at the hospital after being bitten by a dog! Luckily it's not too bad, felt much worse as my calf went into spasm. My calf now feels like I have done a track workout three days in a row."

As messages of concern arrived, Radcliffe tweeted again: "Yes it was when I was running, the owner was an older gentleman who couldn't control the dog. I was stood still when it happened."

A spokeswoman for the athlete later confirmed that the injury was minor and that her training programme was unlikely to be affected.

It is not the first unfortunate incident to have checked the former world champion's progress in her career.

In 2003, Radcliffe was seriously hurt during a training run when she was sent crashing to the ground by a child on a bike.

Five years later her preparations for the Beijing Olympics were disrupted when she was bitten by a spider.

Radcliffe, who is set to fly to the United States in the near future for high-altitude training, is hoping to compete on the track at the World Championships in Daegu in August.

Her attention will then turn to running an autumn marathon, either in Chicago or New York, to gain the qualifying standard for next summer's London Olympics.

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