Could Lindsey Vonn really lose her leg?
Lindsey Vonn’s career is likely over following her horrific crash at the Winter Olympics on Sunday.
The iconic skier needed to be airlifted to a hospital for the second time in just nine days after getting her arm stuck in one of the gates while going downhill. She would tumble down the slope and was heard screaming in pain once she came to a stop.
The Ca’ Foncello Hospital provided an update on her condition on Monday, disclosing that the 41-year-old had undergone orthopedic surgery to stabilize a fracture in her left leg.
Vonn has since revealed that she suffered a “complex tibia fracture.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet, an orthopedic expert and knee specialist in Lyon, has suggested that Vonn is at risk of losing her leg. According to the surgeon, similar injuries have resulted in amputation.
“The timeline is quite unpredictable. It will be months before she can walk normally again,” he told RMC Sport.
Sonnery-Cottet also claimed that Vonn’s first priority right now would be saving her leg and regaining her ability to walk.
Lindsey Vonn Set For 2 More Surgeries
The aforementioned French expert noted that the surgeons who worked on Vonn haven’t been able to fully repair the fracture, based on the photos she posted to Instagram.
Vonn has indeed confirmed that she will need two more surgeries.
“Tomorrow, I’ll have another surgery and hopefully that goes well,” she said in an Instagram post on Friday.“Then I can potentially leave and go back home, at which point I’ll need another surgery. Don’t know exactly what that entails until I get some better imaging.”
Sonnery-Cottet also explained that Vonn’s injury typically results from traffic accidents, especially with motorcycle riders.
It appears the 41-year-old has a long way to go before full recovery.
She had already sustained a torn ACL and meniscus damage less than two weeks before her crash on Sunday.
We wish her the best.
