Ouch, Sandra Näslund grimaces. After having to cut short last season due to a knee operation, the 28-year-old was back in the World Cup premiere in French Val Thorens on Thursday.
It started well, when she was the fastest in qualifying. But in the quarterfinals, Näslund fell, and it would later turn out badly.
I had trained extremely hard and was very loaded to start the season. Then it ended like this. I had hoped it would just be a few weeks of rest. Maybe it was good that it wasn't the knee again, it has taken some knocks before and was swollen again now. I was most worried about that, says Sandra Näslund to Aftonbladet.
Away for several months
After examinations, it is clear that she has suffered a crack in her shinbone, and national team doctor Jakob Swanberg estimates that she will be out for up to three months.
"At present, the leg cannot handle her putting weight on it, and Sandra needs to use crutches for the next six weeks to start with. It's a fracture that needs to heal fully and withstand the enormous strains that skicross involves, and that takes time", says national team doctor Jakob Swanberg in a press release from the Swedish Ski Association.
Näslund had pain in her leg after the crash and instead of competing again the next day, she went home to Sweden for examination. According to the Ski Association, the injury occurred because Näslund took a hard hit to her right knee in a tough downhill turn.
Reigning World Champion
The injury means that she will most likely miss the rest of the season, including the World Championship in Swiss Engadin in March.
I have to break down and try to find some kind of motivation again to get back, says Näslund.
Sandra Näslund is the reigning World Champion and has been totally dominant in the skicross world for several years, with among other things an Olympic gold and three World Championship golds. From December 2021 to December 2023, she racked up 19 consecutive victories in the World Cup, a hard-to-beat record and four more than what Ingemar Stenmark managed during his alpine glory days.
