JESS Grimson says she will continue to play through the pain barrier as she and partner Vicky Palmer aim to keep England's Olympic dream on course.

Winton-based Grimson and Parkstone-based Palmer will compete in the third round of the Continental Cup in Greece from May 2-3, a competition which doubles as a qualifier for Rio 2016.

Grimson fast-tracked her return to action having undergone surgery on a troublesome shoulder problem in January and the Leeds-raised 24-year-old revealed her determination to face Pool E opponents Germany, Belarus and Greece in Thessaloniki.

She told the Daily Echo: "My shoulder has been an ongoing problem for a year and a half. I'm still two or three weeks away from the date I was told I could play but I hedged my bets a little bit.

"I'm using pain as an indicator of how things are going. I've been doing a lot of underarm stuff and have just started to do some overarm stuff.

"While I'm training, I can change what I do to improve my fitness but when we go away next month, I will do whatever I have to in order to win."

The winners of Pool E will advance to next year's Continental Cup final phase while the second and third-placed teams will receive another chance to progress in round four at the end of summer.

Grimson and former Lytchett Minster School pupil Palmer helped England top their pool in the previous stage but Grimson, a sports therapist at LeAF Elite Athlete Academy, warned that the duo would face a much tougher test this time out.

She said: "It's going to be a big step up from the last round. Germany are one of the strongest countries in the world and Greece's first team have played in the Olympics.

"Belarus are a bit of a wild card and the competition will be a good gauge for us because it's early in the season.

"We're going to play as well as we can and the aim is probably to come second or third as I'd imagine Germany will finish top."

The England pair are sponsored by Viper 10 Sportswear and Physio Fitness but are always looking for more funds to aid their competitive exploits. Anyone interested should email palmergrimson@gmail.com.