SALZBURG, Austria (AP) 鈥� Ski great after five years away from the sport is over when it had barely begun.
The Austrian star tore the ACL in his left knee 鈥渄uring a harmless slip鈥� while training in giant slalom, he posted on his on Tuesday.
鈥淎s is unfortunately the case with skiing: part of the game. Maybe I鈥檓 finally done with my journey,鈥� said the 35-year-old Hirscher, who had surgery on Monday evening.
Hirscher returned to race this season for the first time since winning a record eighth straight overall World Cup title in March 2019. In three races his best result was 23rd in the at S枚lden, Austria.
鈥淭he second run was maybe one of the most emotional moments in my career," Hirscher said after racing on Oct. 27.
The two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion is the latest ski superstar sidelined by injury.
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who succeeded Hirscher as the men鈥檚 overall champion in 2020, is with ongoing issues in his recovery from a hard crash in January at the finish of a downhill in Wengen, Switzerland.
Mikaela Shiffrin, the five-time women鈥檚 overall champion, was on Saturday when in sight of her record-extending 100th World Cup win in a giant slalom at Killington, Vermont.
Hirscher is not the only ski great making a comeback after stopping five years ago.
, at age 40, is preparing to return in the weeks ahead in the speed races of downhill and super-G she used to dominate.
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AP skiing:
The Associated Press
