Is Lindsey Vonn facing amputation?

Forty-one-year-old Vonn suffered a complex tibia (shinbone) fracture during the final race in Cortina.

After the crash, she could be heard screaming in pain and was evacuated from the slope first by stretcher and then by helicopter.

Knee specialist from Lyon, Dr. Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet, told RMC Sport that such injuries are extremely serious and in some cases can result in amputation.

“The recovery timeline is unpredictable. It will take months before she can walk normally again. Her first goal now is to keep her leg and be able to stand on it again. A return to top-level skiing is not even a topic at this moment. Some injuries like this can end in amputation,” the French doctor warned.

He added that the photos Vonn posted on Instagram show that, despite successful surgeries, an external fixator has been installed — a metal frame that stabilizes the bone — which means the fracture has not yet fully healed.

“The injury is extremely serious, it will cause her problems for months, and lifelong consequences are possible,” Sonnery-Cottet emphasized, noting that such injuries are more commonly seen in traffic accidents, especially among motorcyclists.

Tanjug/AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

A similar opinion was expressed by another French surgeon, Nicolas Bodrie, who told the newspaper L'Équipe that it is a severe, likely multiple fracture with possible damage to the skin, nerves, and muscles.

According to him, even a younger person would need about a year for a full recovery.

Meanwhile, Vonn revealed that she had already undergone three surgeries and said she has no regrets about returning to the slope, even though just a few days before the race, she tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which, she claims, is unrelated to this fall.

"My Olympic dream didn’t end the way I wanted. In downhill skiing, the difference between a perfect line and a catastrophic injury is sometimes only a few centimeters. I was just five inches too close to the gate when my right hand got caught and caused the fall. The ACL and previous injuries had nothing to do with this," Vonn said.

She added that she suffered a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries for proper healing.

During the race, Vonn hit one of the gates on her right side at high speed and then fell.

Vonn won gold in downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, becoming the first American woman to do so.

In her career, she recorded 45 downhill victories and 28 in super-G, making her one of the most successful speed skiers in alpine skiing history.

Given the severity of the injury, it remains an open question whether one of the sport’s greatest champions will ever compete again at the highest level.