Skier Marcel Hirscher is said to have suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his left knee during training on the Reiteralm on Monday, his ski brand Van Deer-Red Bull reports.
“Cruciate ligament gone, project over!”, Hirscher said in a statement after the successful operation. The 35-year-old from Salzburg will probably not only miss the World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm.
Cruciate ligament tear for Hirscher
“As it unfortunately happens in skiing: part of the game. Perhaps I am finally done with my journey: for the first time I am experiencing first-hand the annoying problem of a cruciate ligament injury, something that so many have had to endure,” Hirscher alluded to the end of his second career. “What remains is: these eight months were intense and I had a lot of fun. I thank everyone who made this incredible journey possible and guided me along it.”
“What remains is the love for skiing,” Hirscher posted on Instagram with a training video showing the injury. A seemingly innocent slip caused the accident. Hirscher managed to avoid a fall, but immediately clutched his left knee in pain. Companions like Felix Neureuther and Marco Schwarz responded promptly – with sad emoticons and good wishes for recovery.
Hirscher, who is active this season as a Dutchman, returned to the World Cup podium five years after the end of his career with a 23rd place in the giant slalom in Sölden. The slalom has not gone as planned so far, he clearly missed the second run in 46th in Levi and in Gurgl he dropped out due to serious adjustment problems.
Hirscher operated
Instead of tinkering with equipment, it is now physiotherapy for Hirscher. According to the doctors, the operation went according to plan. “The anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee was torn and the outer capsule apparatus was slightly affected, otherwise no injuries were observable. Under the given circumstances, these are the best possible conditions for a good healing process,” said the doctors of the private clinic. Ragnitz.
Hirscher spoke of a “hard cut after eight months of the heart project”. “It will certainly be difficult to watch the races.” He said he could make a small contribution to the future successes of the Van-Deer athletes — “and that was part of my mission.”
As one of the few greats in his profession, Hirscher had remained free of serious knee injuries during his career. A broken ankle in August 2017 did not stop him from winning. As a “retired” skier, he suffered a broken leg and a tear in the syndesmosis ligament during the Romania motorcycle rally.
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.
