Neureuther avoids back surgery

The 31-year-old German technical specialist Felix Neureuther breathed a sigh of relief on Monday when he announced that he would not require surgery to help repair a herniated disc in his back.

“Many thanks to Doc Mueller-Wohlfahrt!” Neureuther exclaimed on his Facebook page. “No surgery needed on my back.”

The former team doctor of FC Bayern Munich, Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt, has prescribed another six-week training break for Neureuther instead of going under the knife.

“Another 6 week pause,” Neureuther continued. “Then there will be an examination to see if I can fully load it again. My back has improved significantly, and I can no slowly start to build.”

Neureuther collected 16 podium finishes in the 2014-15 World Cup season (including six victories) and also won bronze in slalom at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Vail-Beaver Creek, Colo. He narrowly missed out on the slalom discipline title, finishing second to Marcel Hirscher after the World Cup Finals race in Meribel, France.