Vonn could return within a year but age and mindset crucial, doctors say

MILAN, Feb 10 : Lindsey Vonn could return to elite ski racing within a year after her displaced tibia fracture, orthopaedic specialists say, but age and mental resilience will play a key role in whether the former Olympic champion can come back at the highest level.

The 41‑year‑old American, who has been in hospital in the northern town of Treviso since Sunday's high‑speed crash in the Milano Cortina Olympics downhill, said in an Instagram post that she had sustained a "complex tibia fracture" and would need multiple surgeries to repair it.

Four Italian medical experts contacted by Reuters on Tuesday said no detailed diagnosis had been released, meaning they could offer only general assessments.

Still, all pointed to the case of 35‑year‑old Federica Brignone, Italy's most successful female skier, who lined up against Vonn in Sunday’s race on Cortina’s Olympia piste just 10 months after suffering multiple leg fractures and a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

"It’s always difficult to give an assessment without seeing the X-rays," Andrea Panzeri, head of the Medical Commission of the Italian Winter Sports Federation (FISI), told Reuters.

"It's a complex fracture that, regardless of age, can limit an athlete's career. But Brignone also had a serious fracture and she recovered," added Panzeri, who was part of the team that operated on the Italian.

RECOVERY TIME OF UNDER A YEAR

Recovery timelines from a complex tibial fracture are well established and, at elite level, supported by specialist medical teams and advanced rehabilitation centres.

"From a displaced tibia fracture, it is possible to return to the ski slopes in eight to 11 months, as Brignone has shown, if there are no complications," said Filippo Pierfrancesco Calanna, an