Selevko, 22, placed seventh at the European Championships in Tallinn last month, but ahead of the Boston appearance, his third career World Championships, he was battling a viral illness which disrupted his preparations.

Nonetheless, he still managed to take third place at a high-level competition in Oslo, though he also had an issue with leg pain too.

"Unfortunately, it hurts all the time, even when walking," Selevko told ERR a couple of weeks ago.

"Now I've taken medication and it got a bit better than it was at the Oslo competition, but it still definitely hurts. But I'm working with my sports doctor and physiotherapist, and I hope the situation will improve."

Selevko added he hopes to ideally finish in the top ten in Boston; this would secure Estonia two spots in men's singles at next year's Olympics.

On the day, Selevko, whose short program PB is 86.20 points, fell at the beginning of his program on a quad toe loop and ended up with 77.50 points this time.

Despite the fall, Selevko secured a place in the free skate, which takes place tonight (Estonian time).

Defending champion Ilia Malinin (US), who landed two quadruple jumps, earned a new personal best of 110.41 points for a flawless program, while last year's silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama (Japan), who also delivered a superb performance, scored 107.09 points. In third place, Kazakhstan's skater Mikhail Shaidorov trails with 94.77 points.

ERR's Sport portal is covering Friday's events from 7.30 p.m. Estonian time.

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