Turnbull is hoping to qualify for the Commonwealth Games

English-based Annadale Strider John Rogers had agreed to travel home to pace Turnbull in an attempt at the Mary Peters Track on Saturday afternoon.

However, Rogers is now suffering from 'flu and is not able to run.

The St Malachy's athlete needed to beat three minutes 40 seconds to guarantee a trip to Melbourne next March.

It is possible that 3:41.60 might be enough to convince the selectors to add him to the six names who have already achieved qualifying marks.

The Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council decreed last year that a maximum of seven track and field athletes would be included in the overall squad.

At the moment six athletes have achieved Commonwealth Games standards. They are James McIlroy (800m), Zoe Brown (pole vault), Eva Massey (shot), Ben Houghton (javelin), Michael Allen (javelin) and Brendan McConville (Decathlon).

Kelly Reid is the seventh ranked athlete under the controversial system used to rank Northern Ireland contenders for the games but Turnbull would move into that position if he bettered 3:41.60.

Turnbull plans to have further attempts at the standard in Canterbury on Wednesday and again in Belfast on the weekend of 17/18 September.

The closing date for qualifying is 18 September.