Lindsey Vonn will "most likely" skip next weekend's World Cup ski races as she continues to attempt to recover from her knee injury in time for the Sochi Olympics.
According to ESPN, Vonn has not skied for two weeks and remains in the U.S. after aggravating her surgically repaired right knee at a downhill race in Val d'Isere, France, on Dec. 21.
"She's recovering and preparing and everything is up in the air," U.S. Ski Team women's head coach Alex Hoedlmoser told ESPN of the defedning Olympic gold medalist's hopes for Sochi. "Right now it's a total open book. We don't know. It totally depends on how she recovers, how the knee feels, if she gets the strength back, the stability in the knee."
Vonn underwent surgery last February to reconstruct two knee ligaments after a crash at the world championships, and partially re-tore one of them in November. She returned to the World Cup in Lake Louise, Alberta, in the first week of December and finished 40th and 11th in two downhills before placing fifth in super-G the next day.
But a loss of balance in Val d'Isere left Tiger Woods girlfriend clutching her knee in another setback. Despite it all, Hoedlmoser told ESPN he would have no trouble putting the downhill champion on the Olympic team even if she hasn't competed for six weeks by the time of the Feb. 7 opening ceremony.
"Well, it's Lindsey Vonn," he told the website. "She doesn't have to prove anything to anybody. So if she's ready to go we're going to bring her. And if she's not then not."
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