Mikaela Shiffrin postpones return to competition: 'I still need to be patient'

Superstar alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin will not compete in this weekend’s World Cup ski races in Soldeu, Andorra, as she needs more time to recover from her knee injury, the American said on Wednesday (7 February)

Shiffrin, who suffered from a crash two weeks ago in a downhill race in Cortina d’Ampezzo, shared in an update that she is recovering from an MCL sprain, meaning that though the knee is still “structurally intact” the rehabilitation process indicates it is still “too soon” for her race.

“The fact that everything is still structurally intact is super positive, but I still need to be patient,” the American wrote in a post on social media.

“I took a ton of stress to my whole leg when I crashed and stretched a bunch of things that are continuing to cause pain, although that is improving every day!

The 28-year-old has a record 95 World Cup wins and is currently leading the race for the overall title by 95 points with Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami in second place.

That lead could well disappear over the weekend if the Swiss racer wins the giant slalom event, but Shiffrin insisted she would not be rushing the recovery process and gave no timeline for her return.

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Mikaela Shiffrin: Taking the time needed for recovery

“I’m not quite at the point where I can, really withstand the forces of slalom turns yet, but, everyday kind of pain gets better. Every day my motion gets a little bit more solid, smooth, consistent. So it’s just kind of managing all of that together and trying to load as much as I can, but, not overload.

“Of course, there's a lot at stake this season. And I feel that. But I also feel like the next few seasons there's just a lot of opportunity. There's a lot of important racing coming up in the next few seasons, and I want to be firing on all cylinders for those. So that's really important to me to do this process right.”

Shiffrin is one of several high-profile skiers to suffer from significant injuries this year.

Beijing 2022 downhill silver medallist Sofia Goggia ended her season on Monday after breaking her leg in a training accident.

Also on the sidelines are Olympic champion Corinne Suter, Slovakian slalom Olympic gold medallist Petra Vlhova and Shiffrin’s boyfriend Aleksander Aamodt-Kilde who dislocated a shoulder and cut his calf following a fall in Wengen on 15 January.

The two-time Olympic champion supported Aamodt-Kilde's call for a re-examination of World Cup scheduling and the extra demands placed on athletes outside of racing.