Hirscher Is Out for Season After Tearing ACL
3rd December 2024
The Austrian legend who is now back and racing for the Netherlands tore his ACL in training. He says he may not race again. An ACL injury is one of the most common amoung recreational skiers and we look at what it is. UPDATED
Marcel Hirscher tore the ACL in his left knee in training for the Giant Slalom at Reiteralm in Austria.
He has undergone surgery and is recovering in hospital, but is out for the rest of the season.
The eight-time overall Crystal Globe winner sustained the injury following what his team describe as a ‘harmless slip’.
He lost his balance after a minor inside ski error, though he did not fall.
We have a video of the incident at the end of this article, and more on an ACL injury that is one of the most common for recreational skies.
Hirscher had surgery on Monday evening in Graz where Dr Jürgen Mandl and Dr Mark Passl performed a successful operation at the Ragnitz Private Clinic.
The 90-minute procedure repaired the torn ACL and a minor injury to the outer capsule apparatus, with no further damage detected.
“These are the best possible conditions for recovery. Physiotherapy can begin immediately, as planned,” said Dr Mandl.
“As is unfortunately the case with skiing, part of the game,” Hirscher said from his hospital bed.
“Maybe I’m finally done with my journey.”
He made a comeback to racing this season after retiring five years ago.
“Of course this is a hard blow after eight months of hard work on a project I started out of passion,” added Hirscher.
“It’s a big disappointment because the whole team, including myself, had envisioned a different outcome for this winter.
“What I take away from this is that these past eight months were intense and brought me a lot of joy.
“I want to thank everyone who made this journey possible and supported me along the way.”
In his comeback race in Soelden in Austria in October he finished 23rd.
In the slalom races in November at Levi in Finland and Gurgl in Austria he failed to score any points.
Another former ski superstar coming out of retirement is Lindsey Vonn.
She is 40-years old and some have questioned her judgement.
Lindsey Vonn. Credit: Stifel U.S. Ski Team
It is unsure if and when she may be racing in a World Cup event.
Last weekend Mikaela Shiffrin fell heavily in a GS race in Killington and will be out of action for at least several weeks.
It is expected that Hirscher will be out of hospital in a couple of days and continue his rehabilitation.
See the video here of how he ruptured his ACL.
As his team said, it was a ‘harmless slip’.
View this post on Instagram
The GB slalom racer, Dave Ryding, spoke about the return of Marcel Hirscher and the potential return of Lindsey Vonn in a recent PlanetSKI video interview.
Dave was speaking to PlanetSKI’s James Cove in Gurgl, Austria, at the end of last month after the men’s slalom.
On Marcel Hirscher (3.01):
“Marcel is arguably the greatest ever. (But) You can’t have time out and expect to be where you were.”
“I think it is good.”
On Lindsey Vonn (4.27):
“I’m not one to say what she should or shouldn’t do. If she wants to do it fair play.
“I think it will be difficult, but let’s hope she stays healthy that’s the main thing…it won’t be easy.”
An ACL injury is one of the most common injuries for recreational skiers.
PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, had a full tear over two decades ago and, like Hirscher, he didn’t fall over.
PlanetSKI’s senior reporter, Jane Peel, has also torn her ACL.
If you want find out more about this common ski injury, what it is and how to avoid it, then see Jane’s post from December 2019.
Piste patrol casualty recovery. Image © PlanetSKI
