After a horror fall: Schmidhofer reports from the hospital

The treating doctors spoke on Monday of a sprained fracture of the left knee joint, which would have resulted in all knee ligaments tearing. It was also said that a continuation of a career in top-class sport cannot be conclusively answered at the moment. But Schmidhofer himself isn't thinking about quitting. No “total loss” “A graduated care concept is certainly necessary. “We will first try to bring the bone back into its optimal shape, stabilize it and then treat part of the ligaments,” said Dr. Michael Plecko, the medical director at the AUVA accident hospital in Graz. Only after a regeneration phase could the other ligament structures be reconstructed and the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments be treated using arthroscopy in five to ten weeks. It was a serious injury, but not a “total loss” because the blood vessels and nerves were not damaged. “I am very, very well taken care of and doing well” Nicole Schmidhofer “I am very, very well cared for and I am doing well,” said Schmidhofer during a video conference from his hospital bed. The 31-year-old Styrian was optimistic and, as usual, combative. According to her own statements, she did not allow questions about the end of her career to come to her. “If you think about how well such a good swing fills up, then this question is quickly solved.” On the way back she didn't want to put any pressure on herself; she felt she was in good hands at the Graz hospital near her home. “I want to ski again in eight, maybe ten months. That’s my pressure on the doctors,” said Schmidhofer. On Friday, in her first race of the season, Schmidhofer flew into the net after jumping in the lower section of the course, cut through it with her sharp-edged skis and got stuck in the second net. “It looked a little cool,” Schmidhofer said after studying her dramatic departure. “It looked a bit like Magic...like David Copperfield on TV. The Nici is driving and there is the (camera) intersection and then the Nici is gone.” Conscious Schmidhofer was conscious after her fall and even radioed her teammates at the start. She instructed a trainer to “let us know at home,” as she said on Monday. Due to the severe pain, her racing ski boots had to be “screwed off” before she was transported away. “That was the worst moment in the last four days,” said Schmidhofer. She claims that she only received painkillers from local doctors at the insistence and request of her.

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After a horror fall: Schmidhofer reports from the hospital

Ski racer Nicole Schmidhofer injured herself much more seriously than previously reported when she fell in the World Cup downhill in Val d'Isere. During a video conference from the hospital, the 31-year-old Styrian still appeared combative.