Greg Rutherford leads 75-strong England team for 2018 Commonwealth Games

Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford headlines the 75-strong athletics squad Team England has announced for next year's Commonwealth Games.

Rutherford, who won the long jump title at London 2012, has had an injury-disrupted year and missed the World Championships in London over the summer due to an ankle problem.

The 30-year-old later had surgery to fix a hernia issue but will be in Australia's Gold Coast in 2018 to defend the Commonwealth gold he won in Scotland.

As expected, Sir Mo Farah, 34, will not be there having recently called time on his track career to focus on road racing, but other medal hopefuls like Adam Gemili, Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson have all been included.

Gemili was pipped to the 100 metres gold in Glasgow by Jamaican Kemar Bailey-Cole and was also part of the sprint relay team that finished second to the Jamaicans.

"Winning two silver medals in Glasgow 2014 was an incredible experience for me and I'm really excited to get back out there," Gemili said.

"The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games was a fantastic event. It was the first time I won a senior international medal so it's great to be going back to where it all started. I'm looking forward to competing for Team England again and can't wait to get out to Australia."

Heptathlete Johnson-Thompson had been favourite to win gold in Glasgow but was forced to withdraw in the build-up due to a foot injury.

Having been close to claiming a medal at the 2016 Olympics and this summer's World Championships, she will be considered one of England's safest bets for a place on the podium.

"It's always a great feeling to represent your country on the international stage and I'm really excited to get to compete for Team England," Johnson-Thompson said.

"Every international I do, I feel more prepared and each one motivates me more to be the best I can be.

"I was so gutted to get an injury just before Glasgow 2014 and miss out so I'm really looking forward to competing at my first Commonwealth Games in Australia next year."