MOSCOW (AP) — Evgeni Plushenko has pulled out of next week’s Rostelecom Cup in Moscow.
The R-Sport agency quoted Russian federation president Alexander Gorshkov as saying on Wednesday that Plushenko would skip the grand prix event.
The 2006 Olympic champion had made a winning return following back surgery in the spring, at last week’s Volvo Cup in Riga, Latvia. Withdrawing from the Rostelecom Cup does not affect Plushenko’s potential qualification for the Sochi Olympics, but could indicate the 31-year-old skater still has some back trouble.
Plushenko finished second in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics to American Evan Lysacek, a result that many, including Plushenko, criticized because Lysacek did not perform a quad.
