Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius will not take to the stand as the first witness for his own defence when his murder trial resumes on Monday in Pretoria, South Africa.
The 27-year-old was expected to give evidence at the start of his defence team's case following a week-long adjournment due to the illness of one of the judge's assistants.
However, the double amputee is likely to follow pathologist Professor Jan Botha, who was not part of the autopsy of Pistorius's girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp but will instead call into question the evidence collected by state pathologist Professor Gert Saayman.
One of Pistorius's lawyers, Brian Webber, told Agence France-Presse: "We don't have a choice. The pathologist has personal reasons for why he has to take the stand first."
Pistorius denies murder by maintaining that he mistook the South African model for an intruder when he fired four gunshots through a bathroom door at his home back on Valentine's Day last year.
Danielle Joynson
