Austrian skier Franz to miss worlds after breaking heel bone

Austrian skier Franz to miss worlds after breaking heel bone

Published Jan. 25, 2019 11:02 a.m. ET

KITZBUEHEL, Austria (AP) — Austrian skier Max Franz has been ruled out of next month's world championships in Sweden after breaking his right heel bone Friday during a World Cup downhill.

The downhill bronze medalist from 2017 caught a bump on the icy Streif course shortly after the start. He avoided crashing but immediately ended his run.

Austria team doctor Martin Gruber says Franz does not need surgery but will be out for 6-to-8 weeks.

Franz has won two World Cup races this season — a downhill in Lake Louise and a super-G in Beaver Creek — and three overall.

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The worlds in Are, Sweden, start Feb. 5.

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