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New York - Usain Bolt may be the fastest man in the world but the Jamaican sprinter has been in no hurry to get back on the track as he prepares for the world championships and next year's London Olympics.
After a back injury forced him to cut short his 2010 season, Bolt has been slower than usual getting out of the blocks this year, but he said there was a valid reason unrelated to his back.
"Things are coming together," he told Reuters in an email.
"I had a few niggles over the winter as most athletes have but nothing serious."
The triple world and Olympic champion has not raced for more than nine months but will make his belated comeback next week, at a lucrative Diamond League meeting in Rome.
His eagerly-awaited return comes about two months later than he normally kicks off his season but the 24-year-old said his delayed start was part of a masterplan to time his run to perfection for the bigger meets ahead.
His main focus this year is trying to defend his 100 and 200 metres titles at the world championships, which will be held in South Korea from August 27-September 4. His aim for 2012, unsurprisingly, is the London Olympics.
"Coach (Glen) Mills planned from early that Rome would be my first race," Bolt said.
"The world championships are late this year and that is the most important meet of the season."
Bolt was surprisingly beaten over the 100m dash last year and faces a tough challenge winning his return race in the Italian capital against a quality field that will include his countryman Asafa Powell, the former world record holder, and France's double European champion Christophe Lemaitre.
"It will be my first time to run in Italy and I am looking forward to the good weather," Bolt said.
"The line-up will be strong as it is a Diamond league meeting, but I am fit and ready."
Bolt's agent Ricky Simms said the Jamaican would remain in Europe to compete at meets in the Czech Republic and Norway before briefly returning home to train in the Caribbean.
As the defending champion, he qualifies automatically for the world championships but may still compete at the Jamaican national trials in late June, before flying back to Europe to compete at Paris and Monaco in July.
