Olympic champion Veith eyes 2018 Games after knee surgery
VIENNA (AP) Olympic super-G champion Anna Veith, out for at least six months following knee surgery, is expected to recover in time for the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
The two-time overall World Cup champion from Austria was released from the hospital on Thursday, two days after having the patellar tendon in her left knee surgically repaired.
''I have no time limit (for a comeback),'' Veith said. ''I don't put myself under pressure. That would be the worst thing to do with this kind of injury.''
Her surgeon, Christian Hoser, said Veith will need at least half a year before getting back on skis, leaving her still enough time to get ready for the Olympics in February.
But Veith was reluctant to set a date for her comeback.
''First, the main goal is to be able to train without pain, to do everything without pain,'' she said. ''Then I will feel when the time is right to return on snow, no matter what time of year that is. I think I have to be very patient.''
Veith returned in December from a 14-month layoff after seriously damaging her right knee in a training crash. She competed in seven World Cup events and two world championship races before ending her season prematurely last week because of a persistent left knee issue.
Veith took gold in super-G and silver in giant slalom at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and won six world championship medals between 2011 and 2015. A winner of 14 World Cup races, she won the overall title in 2014 and 2015.