Injured Maria Sharapova out of Wimbledon qualifying

Maria Sharapova has pulled out of Wimbledon qualifying due to a muscle injury she sustained at the Italian Open in Rome in May.

Sharapova, who is coming back from a 15-month suspension for taking the banned drug meldonium, had been due to enter the qualifying tournament after she rejected a wild card.

But she posted in a Facebook message: "After an additional scan, the muscle tear that I sustained in Rome will unfortunately not allow me to compete in the grass court tournaments I was scheduled to play."

Sharapova will also withdraw from the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, for which she had been granted a wild card.

In her statement she added: "I want to thank the LTA for their amazing support on my return and providing me with a Birmingham wild card, a tournament which I hope many of you will be able to attend.

"I look forward to meeting you there next year. I will continue to work on my recovery and my next scheduled tournament is in Stanford."

Sharapova was denied a wild card for this month's French Open and announced she would go through Wimbledon qualifying rather than receive automatic entry.

Sharapova reached the semi-finals on her comeback at the Porsche Open in Stuttgart in May.

A number of fellow top players have expressed disapproval at the opportunities granted to Sharapova. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard branded her a "cheater" ahead of their recent Madrid Open match, which the Canadian won, two sets to one.