Sawt Falasteen - Kilde to miss rest of ski season after heavy crash

"The season is over, the ski season is finished," doctor Marc Jacob Strauss told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK on Sunday.

"We're now setting ourselves the goal for him to be ready for next season."

"We're actually very happy with the extent (of the damage)," he added. "We feared much more serious injuries based on the TV images."

Kilde underwent surgery in nearby Bern on Saturday night after falling hard near the finish of the downhill won by Marco Odermatt.

The doctor said last season's downhill champion had avoided any fractures, but he suffered a dislocated shoulder and a cut to his calf.

Kilde on Sunday morning posted a selfie with girlfriend Mikaela Shiffrin at his hospital bedside.

"I'm here (and being taken care of by the one and only @mikaelashiffrin)," he wrote in a message to fans, his face battered and bruised.

"Patched up...thank you so much for all of the messages. I'm grateful for all the words of love and support."

The 2020 overall World Cup winner misjudged a jump into the final stretch of the demanding course in sunny conditions while travelling at an eye-watering 145km/h.

The 31-year-old went head over heels and flew back-first into the course netting. First aiders were quickly on the scene and tied an orange tourniquet round his right thigh before his evacuation to hospital by helicopter.

Kilde reflected: "This sport can be brutal, but I still love it."

His absence from the World Cup circuit adds to that of Frenchman Alexis Pinturault, who ruptured knee ligaments in a spectacular fall during Friday's super-G in Wengen.

Austria's Marco Schwarz has also been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

Q.Najjar--SF-PST