American skier Lindsey Vonn is set to have a fourth surgery Saturday on the fractured tibia she sustained in her downhill run at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Feb. 8.
Vonn shared the update on her Instagram account Friday, sharing that she may be able to return to the United States after this surgery to continue her recovery from the complex fracture closer to home.
“Hey guys, I just wanted to give you a little update and say thank you so much to everyone that has been sending me flowers and letters,” Vonn said in the video, resting her head on a shark pillow she received while in the hospital. “It’s just been so amazing and really helped me a lot.
“It has been quite a hard few days in the hospital here. I’m finally feeling more like myself. I have a long, long way to go. Tomorrow I’ll have another surgery and hopefully that goes well and then I can potentially leave and go back home, at which point I will need another surgery. Still don’t know exactly what that entails yet until I get some better imaging, but it’s kind of where I am right now.”
Vonn, 41, is being treated at a hospital in Treviso, Italy, after crashing 13 seconds into her downhill run when her arm hooked around a gate, sending her flying into the snow and breaking her leg.
She was competing through a torn ACL in her left knee sustained nine days prior to her event in the final tune-up race at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, the latest hurdle in an injury-plagued career that saw her win three Olympic medals (one gold) and more than 80 World Cup races before initially retiring in 2019. Vonn appeared to still be in medal contention, finishing with the third-best time in the final training run.
Vonn said in the video she is “very much immobile” but expressed gratitude for friends and family members who have visited her and being able to watch her fellow U.S. competitors in the Olympics to distract her.
“I feel very lucky and fortunate to have so many people around me that have really helped me get through this, so I just wanted to say thank you and go Team USA,” Vonn said. “It’s been so great to watch and really lifted my spirits. Good job, team, and keep crushing it. I’ll check in with you guys when I can.”
–Field Level Media
