Sawt Falasteen - Italy's Brignone has surgery on broken leg with Winter Olympics looming

Since returning from Sun Valley where she won the World Cup overall title for the second time, 34-year-old Brignone has been the toast of Italy.

A ski slope now even bears her name in the resort of Courmayeur near her family chalet in La Salle, in the Aosta Valley near Mont Blanc.

Brignone has been relatively unscathed in a blessed career but while competing in one of her last races of the winter she suffered a heavy fall in the Alpe Lussia ski area in Val di Fassa in north-eastern Italy.

After several wild somersaults with both skis flying off she was helped to the sidelines and carried down the mountain on a sled before being taken to hospital by helicopter.

After the double fracture was diagnosed she was then transferred to a Milan clinic.

"I can't hide the fact that it's a complicated fracture, the bone has broken significantly," said Andrea Panzeri, who heads the Italian Winter Sports Federation's medical commission, before the operation.

He added: "We checked the knee for swelling and decided to go into surgery immediately.

"Federica is strong, she's lucky not to have suffered a serious injury before today."

He warned the recovery time will take "months".

"I found Federica calm," he reported. "Like all great athletes, when they get injured, they accept what's happening to them. This isn't a good time for her after her exceptional season...but she will know how to react."

Later Thursday the Italian winter sports federation announced: "The operation is over, the surgery was a complete success."

Surgeons noticed during the operation that Brignone is also suffering from a left knee ACL tear.

"This will be re-evaluated in the coming weeks," the federation said.

Her compatriot and great rival Sofia Goggia, who suffered a double fracture in February 2024, took six months to get back on skis.

Brignone dominated the 2024-25 season on the women's circuit, winning 10 races, her second overall World Cup title and the giant slalom and downhill small crystal globes.

She also won the world championship gold medal in the giant slalom and a super-G silver in Saalbach.

On Thursday, she was leading from the first run but hit a gate on the second run, falling awkwardly.

The skier from Val d'Aosta has won three Olympic medals but never a gold and is one of Italy's strongest medal chances at the 2026 Olympics in Milan-Cortina.

All winter, her helmet, painted with a tiger's head, led the way.

"It's an animal that never gives up, that, even when injured, gets back up and tries to fight to the end," she said.

F.AbuZaid--SF-PST