Swiss lose 3 skiers to assorted injuries

By Published On: August 22nd, 2014Comments Off on Swiss lose 3 skiers to assorted injuries
Silvan Zurbriggen at the 2014 Wengen downhill training start. GEPA/Wolfgang Grebien

Silvan Zurbriggen at the 2014 Wengen downhill training start. GEPA/Wolfgang Grebien

Swiss alpine athletes Reto Schmidiger and Joana Haehlen have suffered knee injuries during their training in South America while Silvan Zurbriggen incurred a back injury just before leaving for Chile. Schmidiger may still be able to compete in the 2014-15 season, but winter is already over for rising Europa Cup skier Haehlen. The predictions are still uncertain for World Cup speed skier Zurbriggen.

Haehlen tore the ACL in her left knee during a GS training session in Argentina.

“It is tough as everything can change so quickly,” said Haehlen. “All the workouts, fitness, and hard work we have done is now useless, the winter of the World Championships is already over. ” There are no other injuries to her left knee and she will be able to start preparation for the next season this spring.

Sitting on the same plane as Haehlen was Schmidiger who also had to return home from South America earlier than expected. At the University Clinic Balgrist, doctors Christian Gerber and Sandro Fucentese evaluated the results of earlier tests and diagnosed a torn exterior ligament in Schmidiger’s right knee.

Schmidiger’s injury was rather unfortunate. As he went to load the chairlift, he had a moment of inattention and his right boot got stuck in the seat when he was very low to the ground. Luckily, he only suffered a torn outer ligament and surgery is not necessary. Healing time and estimated at two months, but Schmidiger is optimistic for racing in mid-November.

“My goal is to be on the starting line to Levi,” he said. “But I especially hope to heal properly and completely in order to be well prepared to compete for the rest of the season including the World Championships!”

The day before his departure for South America, Zurbriggen suffered a herniated disc in his back. He is especially disappointed because he had never been to the training sites in Chillan and La Parva which would have provided new challenges.

“And most,” he added, “the super-G races that I could have done in Chile would have been very important for my FIS points.” No surgery is planned for Zurbriggen at this time, and the chief medical officer of the Swiss team Walter O. Frey hopes to heal the injury with medication. The treatment prescribed last night has already shown its first effects, but the exact healing time of Zurbriggen’s herniated disc cannot be estimated just yet.

Release courtesy of Swiss-Ski

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