England's Matt Richardson has been ruled out of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow through injury, robbing the track cycling programme of one of its most anticipated storylines. Richardson, who controversially switched allegiance from Australia to England shortly after winning two silver medals for Australia at the Paris 2024 Olympics, had been expected to be a leading medal contender and a focal point of rivalry with his former teammates.

The 27-year-old, born in Kent but raised in Australia from age nine, had planned to compete in the team sprint, keirin and sprint events, and had drawn attention for comparing the Australian programme unfavourably to Britain's ("high school" versus "Hogwarts"). He was injured in a heavy crash at this week's World Series keirin event in Japan, having enjoyed strong recent form including two world championship silvers in 2025 and European titles over Olympic champion Harrie Lavreysen. Harry Radford will replace him in the sprint events, making his Commonwealth Games debut.