Hodgkinson, 24, has had a frustrating outdoor season and is yet to win a Diamond League race this year, despite improving his own British record.
After breaking the 24-year-old world indoor record in Lievin in February, Hodgkinson captured his first world indoor title in March.
Those successes raised hopes that Hodgkinson could break Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova’s record of one minute and 53.28 seconds, set in Munich in 1983.
The Briton improved her national record to 1:54.33 in Stockholm in early June, but suffered a shock defeat to Switzerland’s Audrey Werro, who ran the third-fastest 800 meters in history to win the race.
Two weeks later, Hodgkinson withdrew from the 400 meters final at the UK Athletics Championships in tears after feeling “a little twinge in my hamstring” moments before the race.
After Werro improved his best time to 1:53.80 in Paris, Hodgkinson looked to start his season at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene.
However, competing with both knees taped after a bad fall in training, she finished second behind world champion Lilian Odira.
Asked if the record attempt was still his goal on Saturday, Hodgkinson said: “I haven’t missed any training. I feel pretty good. I’m just taking the pressure off because I have nothing to prove. I don’t need to chase anything just because someone else wants it done.
“I’m in very good shape and in a very good place. I think fast times come from great races. If it’s Saturday then great, if it’s in a few weeks or next year, I don’t care.”
She will face tough competition from Ethiopia’s Olympic silver medalist Tsige Duguma and Dutch star Femke Broeders-Bol, who has made rapid progress since moving up from 400 to 800 meters this season and clocked a time of 1:55.60 in Paris.
However, her training partner and world silver medalist Georgia Hunter Bell withdrew from the meet due to a bad cold.
Rising British star Phoebe Gill, who reached the Olympic semi-finals in Paris aged 17, was set to make her Diamond League debut, after recovering from an injury that ruled her out of the 2025 outdoor season. However, she had to withdraw on Friday due to a knee problem.