Lindsey Vonn faces ninth surgery to rebuild her ACL after Olympic crash

Video announcement

Lindsey Vonn announced in an Instagram video posted on Monday evening, 9 November, that her ninth operation is coming up. She recorded the clip beforehand and said she is nervous about the procedure, but she also prays it will be her last. The 42-year-old said things could still change during the surgery, so she will share updates once she is out of the operating room and recovering. The video did not mention any comeback plans.

What the operation involves

Vonn said the surgeons will remove all plates and screws, which amounts to essentially all of the implant material in her leg. That removal is needed so a new anterior cruciate ligament can be inserted, because she still has no working ligament in that knee. She said she waited nine months for her bone to heal before the repair could go ahead, and that the bone has now healed. The holes left in her bone by the screws must also close during recovery. Fanpage reports that some details of the procedure will only be assessed once the surgery is underway.

Injury background

The injury dates to the Olympic women's downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo on 8 February, part of Milano Cortina 2026. Fanpage reports she left the course after hitting a gate about 13 seconds after the start, while Spiegel Online puts her fall at 14 seconds into the run. She had already torn the cruciate ligament in her left knee a few days earlier at Crans-Montana, a fact she confirmed at a press conference, according to Fanpage. Blick reports that she denies any link between the knee injury and the crash. The crash caused a complex fracture of the left tibia, and she later described emergency surgery as the only thing that prevented amputation of the leg. Fanpage reports she was treated at a hospital in Treviso and spent two weeks in hospital, and she has called it the most extreme and painful injury of her career. Vonn, who has won four overall World Cup titles, was in the US team's plans for the 2026-27 season at the time of publication.

Recovery and future

Vonn expects six to nine months of recovery, a timeline she compares to a normal cruciate ligament reconstruction, according to Blick and Spiegel Online. Fanpage reports that she spoke of a year and a half before she would be back at full strength. A quick return to racing therefore looks out of reach. After the operation she plans to decide whether she still wants to compete or limit herself to recreational skiing. She has not ruled out races, including World Cup events, but she wants to be at her best and first return to the mountains. Fanpage notes she has already experienced a six-year break from the sport.

Reactions

Fellow skier Paula Moltzan, 32, and Austria's Nina Ortlieb, 30, wrote support in the comments under the video, according to Blick. Vonn's partner Matthieu Bailet, 30, and US athletics star Allyson Felix, 40, also responded. As of the reports, Vonn had not yet given any update on how the operation was going.