World Athletics Championships: Laura Muir near full fitness as she eases into 1500m semi-finals

Laura Muir finished fourth at the 2017 World Championships in London

Britain's Laura Muir says she is nearing full fitness after easing into the 1500m semi-finals at the World Championships in Doha.

The Scot had not raced for three months but comfortably finished third in her heat behind American Jenny Simpson and Canadian Gabriela Debues-Stafford.

"I was quite nervous for today, it's my first time back on the track but I'm confident in my body," Muir, 26, said.

"It was a decent pace and I just wanted to keep out of trouble."

Team-mate Sarah McDonald also qualified from the first heat but fellow Briton Jemma Reekie missed out after finishing 10th in a slow second heat.

European 1500m champion Muir last ran in July because of a calf problem, but the Scot had top-three finishes in all five Diamond League races before that.

"It felt great to be back, it's been so long. I'm pretty close [to full fitness]. I'm just so, so happy to be here and be competitive," she added.

The semi-finals are on Thursday with the final on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Britain's Eilish McColgan booked her place in Saturday's 5,000m final, coming fourth in her heat in 14 minutes 55.79 seconds.

McColgan, whose mum Liz McColgan won the 10,000m world title in 1991, sais she was "chuffed" to reach the final.

"I think mum will be happy with it," the 28-year-old told BBC Sport. "She will be annoyed I didn't back off a bit earlier but I couldn't see.

"I know I'm in PB (personal best) shape so I knew if I could go out there and run 15 minutes that would be comfortable for me.

"Hopefully my legs will be ready to go a little bit faster in the final. If I could make a PB in the final, I'll be over the moon."

She is joined in the final by team-mate Laura Weightman, who came through her heat in 15:02.24.