World champion Tyson Gay [Images] will miss out on competing in one of the strongest 100 metres lineups ever assembled for a Golden League event after he withdrew from Friday's Memorial Van Damme meeting through injury.

The American was due to face triple Olympic [Images] sprint champion and world record holder Usain Bolt [Images] and fellow Jamaican compatriot Asafa Powell [Images], who ran the joint second-fastest 100 of all time on Tuesday, in front of a capacity 50,000 crowd.

But Gay said he did not want to risk further damage to the hamstring injury that dogged his Olympic bid last month in Beijing [Images] where he failed to reach the final.

"I will not make it on Friday. I really wanted to compete, but I can't race," Gay said after training on Thursday.

The 26-year-old will now work towards defending his 100, 200 and 4x100 titles at the 2009 world championships in Berlin.

"Any further injury would have seriously damaged my preparations and my chances for the world championships in Berlin," Gay said.

"I need to come back next year and compete as strongly as I can after suffering this summer."