US skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin has not set a timeline for her return to skiing as she continues to recover from a high-speed crash in January.
The most successful skier in history sustained a knee injury during a World Cup downhill event in Italy and is now in rehabilitation.
On Wednesday, Shiffrin shared on social media that she avoided major ligament damage but is dealing with “a sprain of the tibial-fibular ligaments.” She told CNN Sport’s Don Riddell that her return date is uncertain and depends on her current rehab phase.
“Recovery is a day-by-day process involving various tests and stressors on the knee to monitor tissue response. I won’t be racing in Andorra this weekend, and that’s all we know for now,” Shiffrin explained.
She feels fortunate to have escaped with minimal damage, given the crash’s impact. Shiffrin was knocked off balance after a small jump, hitting a gate and colliding with the slope’s fences.
“This crash, I kind of saw it coming while in the air. I tried to avoid it, but it happened so fast that there was little I could do. The forces were high, and the surface was rock solid. Sometimes, you just can’t avoid it,” she said.
In the weeks leading up to her crash, Shiffrin’s boyfriend, Norwegian alpine skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, experienced a serious accident during a World Cup downhill race in Wengen, Switzerland. Kilde suffered a dislocated shoulder, two torn shoulder ligaments, and a severe calf laceration requiring urgent surgery due to nerve damage.
Shiffrin supported Kilde at the hospital, and now they are both helping each other through their respective rehabilitations.
“I’m very lucky. I could have had much more damage,” Shiffrin said. “[Kilde] is a constant reminder of that. But he’s so positive. He just makes everyone around him smile.”