Ed Drake is targeting a defence of his British title after injury wrecked his World Championship dream.

The Kingston skier had been in fine form in 2011, achieving his best ever result in the World Cup when he finished 26th in Chamonix at the end of January.

That qualified him for the show-piece World Ski Championship in Garmisch-Partenkirchen for only the second time but an ankle ligament tear suffered in the first round of Super G on February 9 saw him fly home early.

He has been out of action ever since but hopes to be back on the slopes this weekend so he can start building up his fitness for his British title defence in Meribel from March 27.

“I was on a high after Chamonix and then to crash and not be able to take part in the rest of the Championships wasn't great but it is just one of those things,” he said.

“I had crashed a few times in training and decided that I was going to race anyway as it is the World Championships and the second biggest event in the calendar so I wasn't going to pull out any time soon.

“I may have crashed but at least I was pushing, if you are not pushing it it isn't worth doing.

“If the doctors give me the go-ahead I plan to go out at the weekend and as soon as I get back out I should be able to compete “I want to be back fit for the British Championship.”

Drake readily admits he is not a good patient and doesn't enjoy watching his sport on television.

“Every second I am back here is just time that could be spent out there on the slopes,” he said.

“Watching it on television gets me frustrated, it is like it is teasing me - I should be racing where the television is.

“I have had a couple of injuries over my career and you just have to concentrate on getting yourself back out there.

“The stuff that winds you up acts as the drive to get back out as soon as you can.

“If I was back here and not fussed about getting back out there something would be wrong.”