Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal, who won a medal of every color at the 2010 Olympics, will miss Saturday’s World Cup downhill in Wengen, Switzerland, and possibly much more time due to a persistent knee injury.
“I’ve been struggling with the knee, and didn’t know what these next days would bring,” was posted on Svindal’s Facebook page Friday. “But now I know. I will not be able to race in Wengen tomorrow. Difficult decision, but hopefully the right one. Something is not OK in my knee, and I need to figure out exactly what it is so that that I can start skiing the way I want to again. Hopefully nothing too bad. We’ll see.”
Svindal, 34, has been trying to come back this season after a brutal Jan. 23 crash, where he tore his right ACL and suffered cartilage and meniscus damage.
He made the podium in three of his first four races in December but then skipped the most recent World Cup speed weekend in Santa Caterina, Italy, two weeks ago.
Svindal returned for Wengen training runs Tuesday and Wednesday before pulling out of Saturday’s race (4:30 a.m. ET, NBCSports.com/live and the NBC Sports app).
Svindal’s countryman, Olympic super-G champion Kjetil Jansrud, became the world’s best speed racer the last few years as Svindal battled injuries.
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