Federica Brignone undergoes left leg surgery in Milan to remove hardware

Return to surgery in Milan

Federica Brignone announced on Tuesday morning that she will undergo another surgical operation on her left leg in Milan. The 36-year-old Italian alpine skier is scheduled for the procedure on the afternoon of 25 August 2026 at Casa di Cura La Madonnina. The intervention aims to extract the internal fixation plate and screws implanted following an accident in 2025, while also cleaning the surrounding joint tissue. Surgeons in the operating room will evaluate the state of her meniscus to determine whether suture or restructuring work is necessary. The decision to return to the operating theatre followed persistent discomfort that hampered her recent on-snow training sessions.

My leg continues to improve, but unfortunately doing certain activities and on skis I still have pain. For this reason, with the medical team, we decided to intervene surgically. The main objective will be to remove the plate and clean the area, with the possibility of also intervening on the meniscus. This last decision will be made directly during the operation this afternoon. For now that is all... I will keep you updated.

Crash history and Olympic recovery

The ongoing physical complications trace back to April 2025, when Brignone suffered a severe crash during a giant slalom run at the Italian national championships. Medical evaluations revealed a displaced multi-fragment fracture of the tibial plateau and fibular head, alongside an anterior cruciate ligament tear and medial capsuloligamentous damage. Despite the extent of the damage, the athlete returned to competition only ten months later to contest the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. There she secured two gold medals in the giant slalom and super-G disciplines. However, competing at elite intensity aggravated her knee, prompting her to bring an early end to her competitive campaign after the World Cup stop in Soldeu.

Summer testing and lingering pain

Brignone resumed on-snow activity in late July 2026, completing a two-day training block on the Cervinia glacier alongside her brother and coach, Davide Brignone. That session ended a 151-day hiatus from snow following her departure from the World Cup circuit. Medical evaluations at the J-Medical centre in Turin preceded her return, where specialists monitored her joint function and structural recovery. In a July interview with French daily newspaper L'Equipe, Brignone revealed that morning ski runs left her limping throughout the remainder of the day. She acknowledged that continuing to race under comparable levels of pain would be impossible for another full competitive year.

Schedule disruption and World Cup outlook

The surgery forces immediate changes to the Italian skier's preparation schedule for the 2026–2027 season. An overseas team training trip to Argentina scheduled for September 2026 has been cancelled due to the operation and subsequent rehabilitation. Recovery timelines will be established by the surgical team once the meniscus assessment and hardware removal are concluded. The women's Alpine Ski World Cup season is set to open on 24 October 2026 on the Rettenbach glacier in Sölden, Austria. Whether Brignone will be fit to enter the starting gate in Sölden or will delay her return to the circuit remains undetermined.