Nov 11 (Reuters) - American downhill great Lindsey Vonn has undergone a ninth operation on the left leg she shattered in a horrific crash at the Winter Olympics in Cortina in February.
The 42-year-old posted a message before surgery saying she hoped it would be the last operation she required.
Vonn made it to her fifth Olympics despite an ACL injury the week before but crashed 13 seconds into her run, suffering a compound fracture and tibial plateau fracture.
"This day has been looming on my calendar
for a while now and the time has finally come," Vonn said on Instagram ahead of her surgery this week. "I've been nervous and anxious about it, but at the same time excited to hopefully put this behind me.
"This will be my ninth surgery and I'm praying my last. There are still things that could change in surgery so we will have to wait and see how it goes but I will keep you posted on my progress when I am out of surgery and recovering."
Vonn was named in the US Alpine ski team for the 2026-27 World Cup season despite uncertainty over her future, although she is refusing to rule out a return.
"There's a lot of unanswered questions that I have in my mind and I'm still trying to process everything," she said.
"I don't want to close the door on racing. I think I have to be 100%, and I want to get back on the mountain before I can make that judgement."
Vonn is one of Alpine skiing's most decorated athletes with three Olympic medals and 84 World Cup victories.
(Reporting by Martyn HermanEditing by Christian Radnedge)
