OLYMPIC champion Chad le Clos is back in Durban after quitting the World Cup series with a shoulder niggle.

"It's not serious," said his coach Graham Hill, one of the SA Sports Awards nominees for coach of the year.

"He could have carried on, but we decided to rather get some serious training in and do some work on the shoulder."

Hill said Le Clos, who was lying third on the overall rankings after the first two legs of the World Cup, could have retained his title as best male swimmer.

"I believe he could have won it. It's just a decision I made. It's hard on the pocket.

"It's a lot of money to give up, but I did it in the best interests of the swimmer."

Le Clos is already back in training for the world short course championships in Istanbul in December.

"I think Chad could do some big things there. We haven't decided what events he will be doing, but he will probably do the butterfly races and possibly the 200m freestyle."

Le Clos won the Olympic 200m fly gold and the 100m fly silver in London.

Hill added that Le Clos's presence was inspiring his club mates.

"They want to beat the Olympic champion. But Chad is also talking to the youngsters. The other day he saw a kid standing alone and he went up to him and said: 'When I was your age I never stood in a corner, I wanted to do it all'."