Lindsey Vonn Undergoes Ninth Surgery After Olympic Crash

Lindsey Vonn underwent her ninth surgery on Monday, November 9, taking another major step in her recovery from the crash that ended her Olympic campaign at the Milano Cortina Winter Games in February. The operation, at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado, removed the plates and screws that had stabilised her fractured left leg and finally rebuilt the anterior cruciate ligament she tore days before the Games began.

EssentiallySports reported that the operation had gone ahead as planned on Monday, nine months after the crash. Vonn, 42, recorded a video message for her followers before going into theatre. “So if you’re watching this, that means I am currently having surgery on my leg again. This is going to be my ninth surgery,” she said, adding that she was praying it would be her last, while cautioning that “there are still things that could change in surgery.”

The operation nine months in the making

The surgery was the one Vonn has been waiting for since February. She tore the ACL in her left leg during a World Cup race at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on January 30, just days before the Olympics. She chose to race the women’s downhill at Milano Cortina anyway, and crashed about 13 seconds into her run on February 8.

The fall left her with a complex fracture of the left tibia, damage to the fibular head and tibial plateau, and a broken right ankle. She was airlifted off the course and underwent her first four operations at a hospital in Treviso, Italy, including an emergency fasciotomy that saved her leg from amputation after compartment syndrome set in.

“Dr. Tom Hackett saved my leg from being amputated,” Vonn said in an earlier update. “He did what is called a fasciotomy, he cut open both sides of my leg and let it breathe and he saved me.”

Four more operations followed in the United States, but the ACL itself could not be rebuilt while the hardware was in place. “I don’t have an ACL still because of all the plates; we just couldn’t put it in,” Vonn explained. With her bones now healed, surgeons could remove the plates and screws and reconstruct the ligament in Monday’s procedure. Dr. Hackett and Dr. Randy Viola operated at the Steadman Clinic, according to reports of the surgery.

A long road back

Vonn expects about four weeks on crutches, followed by six to nine months of rehabilitation before she feels fully recovered. “I feel pretty strong, and I feel good, but again I’m gonna basically go back to zero again,” she told Parade before the operation.

“This hopefully will be my last surgery, and this will be my ninth surgery, and I’m looking forward to moving past this,” she said.

She spent the days before the operation out in public, attending the CFDA Fashion Awards in New York on November 2 and the LACMA Art+Film Gala in Los Angeles on November 7, where she wore a purple sequin gown two days before going under the knife.

No decision on retirement

Vonn has not retired, and she remains on the Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team roster for the 2026-27 season. She has been careful not to promise a return to competition, saying she cannot judge how she will feel in nine months’ time.

“I do feel that things are unfinished with my career,” she told Parade. “I feel like I can’t mentally or physically make any decisions now because I just don’t know what I’m gonna feel like in nine months.”

In a message shared before the operation, Vonn thanked fans for their support, Sports Illustrated reported, and said she would update followers on her progress once she was out of surgery and recovering.

In other American sport

Elsewhere, No. 22 UCLA stunned No. 5 Arizona 84-75 in its college basketball season opener, while the Winnipeg Jets rallied to beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 in overtime after a historic comeback.

Frequently asked questions

What surgery did Lindsey Vonn have on November 9?

Surgeons removed the plates and screws from her left leg and reconstructed the ACL she tore in January, nine months after her Olympic crash.

How long will her recovery take?

Vonn expects about four weeks on crutches and six to nine months before she feels fully recovered.

Will Lindsey Vonn race again?

She has not retired and remains on the U.S. ski team roster, but says she will not decide on her future until she sees how her recovery goes.