The Championships, which open today and last until March 10, act as the trials for the Olympics and Paralympics as well as the London 2012 swimming test event, but Roberts will be forced to miss the event after he was diagnosed with pneumonia after returning home from a British Swimming training camp in South Africa in January.

The 32-year-old from Wales, who has cerebral palsy, has been receiving treatment and although is recovering, he will not be able to compete at the first part of the Paralympic trials.

It is a blow for the swimming star, who is hoping to surpass the 11 Paralympic gold medals won by former wheelchair racer Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson at London 2012, but National Performance Director John Atkinson is hopeful Roberts will be able to compete at the second and final London 2012 Paralympic trials in Sheffield from April 6 until 8.

"Dave has had a tough year," said Atkinson.

"He had to miss the IPC European Championships with an arm injury and had successfully got back into full training once that had healed.

"We are supporting Dave in his recovery from pneumonia and our medical team are in regular contact with him.

"The competition came too soon for him to be back to full fitness.

"We will continue to support Dave on his road back and we hope to see him at the second trials in April."

However, there remains a star-studded Paralympic field at the 2012 Championships with Simmonds set to be joined by fellow Paralympic champions Sascha Kindred, Liz Johnson and Heather Frederiksen (pictured).

There will be a particular focus on Frederiksen who was given a six-month ban by the IPC in 2009 for failing a drug test at the European Championships that year and stripped of the three medals she won at the competition.

The ban came because the medication she was using for her asthma condition was over the legal limit.

However, she has now ensured that it is under the legal limit of prescribed medication for her event and she made a successful return to competition last year by winning three gold medals at the 2011 IPC Swimming European Championships.

She is tipped to easily qualify for the London 2012 Paralympics and to be a major medal contender there.

The British Paralympic swimming trials run alongside the Olympic trials, where the likes of Rebecca Adlington and Liam Tancock will be looking to secure their London 2012 berths.

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