Video shows injury

“Maybe I’m done with my journey now”

Marcel Hirscher shows the training moment in which he tore his cruciate ligament in a video on Instagram.

(Bild: GEPA pictures, instagram.com/marcel__hirscher)

Maybe I'm finally done with my journey: For the first time, I'm experiencing first-hand the tiresome issue of cruciate ligaments, which so many have had to go through," said Marcel Hirscher, for whom the season has ended prematurely after suffering a torn cruciate ligament in training.

A cruciate ligament rupture in his left knee has brought Marcel Hirscher's comeback to an abrupt end. The eight-time overall World Cup ski champion suffered the serious knee injury on Monday during training on the Reiteralm, as his ski brand Van Deer-Red Bull announced on Tuesday morning. "Cruciate ligament gone, project over!", Hirscher explained in a press release following the successful operation. The 35-year-old from Salzburg will therefore probably not only miss the World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm.

It will certainly be hard to watch the races.

Marcel Hirscher

"As is unfortunately the case with skiing: part of the game. Maybe I'm finally done with my journey: For the first time, I'm experiencing the tiresome topic of cruciate ligaments first-hand, which so many have already had to experience," Hirscher alluded to an end to his second career. "What remains is that these eight months were intense and I had a lot of fun. I would like to thank everyone who made this incredible journey possible and accompanied me on it."

Video shows moment of injury
"What remains is the love of skiing," Hirscher posted on Instagram about the training video showing the course of the injury. The mishap happens during a seemingly harmless slip. Hirscher is able to avoid a fall, but immediately grabs his left knee in pain and screams loudly. Fellow skiers such as Felix Neureuther and Marco Schwarz responded promptly - with sad emoticons and wishes for a speedy recovery.

Hirscher, who has been competing as a Dutchman since this season, returned to the World Cup stage five years after ending his career with a 23rd place in the giant slalom in Sölden. Things have not gone according to plan in the slalom so far, in Levi he clearly missed the second run in 46th place, in Gurgl he was eliminated with serious setup problems.

Instead of tinkering with his equipment, Hirscher is now undergoing physiotherapy. According to the doctors, the operation went according to plan. "The anterior cruciate ligament in the left knee was torn and the outer capsule apparatus was slightly affected, otherwise there were no other injuries. These are the best possible conditions for a good recovery under the given circumstances," said the doctors at Privatklinik Ragnitz.

Hardly any injuries in his first career
The plan of the two-time Olympic champion and seven-time world champion was actually to skip the giant slalom in Beaver Creek and return to the races in Val d'Isere (December 14/15). Instead, what happened was what Hirscher called a "tough cut after eight months of a heartfelt project". "It will certainly be tough to watch the races." He was able to make a small contribution to the future success of the Van Deer athletes - "and that was also part of my mission".

Hirscher was one of the few greats of his profession to remain without any major knee injuries in his career, and a broken ankle in August 2017 did not stop him from winning. As a ski "pensioner", he suffered a broken leg and a torn syndesmosis ligament at the Romaniacs motorcycle rally.