Sofia Goggia Olympic downhill title defence in doubt after Sunday crash in Italy

Sofia Goggia is going to need to recover in a hurry from a series of injuries following another crash on Sunday if she's going to be able to defend her Olympic downhill title next month.

Goggia would have been an overwhelming favourite for another gold — or two: she's also a force in super-G.

But the Italian sprained her left knee, partially tore a cruciate ligament and suffered a "minor fracture" of the fibula (calf) bone in her leg — plus some tendon damage — when she did the splits at high speed then tumbled down the mountain during a World Cup super-G at home in Cortina d'Ampezzo, her team said after a medical evaluation in Milan.

The crash came a day after Goggia won a downhill in Cortina with another wild run, a victory she labelled "one of the greatest wins" of her career.

Goggia will start physical rehab on Monday with the aim of returning in time for the downhill at the Beijing Olympics on Feb. 15.

WATCH | Goggia does splits, tumbles down course:

She'll therefore likely miss the Olympic giant slalom on Feb. 7 and the super-G on Feb. 11. She'll need to enter at least one downhill training session on Feb. 12, 13 or 14 to compete in the downhill — but preferably all three on a new course that she's never been on before.

"I'm upset," Goggia said. "It's not a break that I needed in such an important time of the season but I'm already going to start physical therapy in the coming hours, with the aim of trying to defend the Olympic title in the event that I love most."

Goggia was nominated to carry Italy's flag at the Feb. 4 opening ceremony of the Olympics but it's now unclear if she'll be able to travel to China by then.

The make-or-break Goggia also had a high-speed crash during a downhill at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee,