Lindsey Vonn said Friday she will need at least one more surgery before going home from a hospital in Treviso, Italy.

In a message posted on social media, the 41-year-old American skier thanked supporters who have sent encouraging letters and stuffed animals while she remains in a Treviso hospital after fracturing her left leg during last Sunday’s Olympic downhill race. She said that she is scheduled for a fourth surgery on her leg Saturday and could possibly return home to the U.S., where she will require another procedure.

“It’s been quite a hard few days in the hospital here,” Vonn said. “I’m finally feeling more like myself, but I have a long, long way to go. [Saturday], I’ll have another surgery and hopefully that goes well and then I can potentially leave and go back home, at which point I’ll need another surgery. [I] still don’t know exactly what that entails yet until I get some better imaging. But, it’s kind of where I am right now.”

Vonn injured her leg in a crash 13 seconds into her run at the Alpine downhill competition. The injury required Vonn to be airlifted off the mountain and is expected to be career-ending for the three-time Olympic medalist.

In a previous update, Vonn said that she’d sustained a complex fracture of her tibia. Per Yale Medicine, a complex fracture is “when the bone breaks into bits and pieces, when the soft tissue surrounding the bone is severely damaged, or when the patient has other illnesses or injuries that complicate treatment and healing.”

Milan 2026 Winter Olympics Medal Count

Rank
Country

G

S

B
Total

1

Norway
12
7
7
26

2

Italy
8
4
10
22

3

United States
5
8
4
17

4

Japan
3
5
9
17

5

France
4
7
4
15

Vonn skied on a torn ACL in the same left leg, an injury she sustained just days before the start of the Olympics on Jan. 30. Her decision to ski on her injured leg drew scrutiny and speculation that it contributed to her crash.

Vonn’s right arm got caught in a gate at the top of her run, sending her flying through the air at a high rate of speed and crashing into the ground.

She previously wrote that her ACL tear had nothing to do with her crash.

“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash,” Vonn wrote. “My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.”

As she’s been in hospital, the performance of American athletes at the Olympics has lifted Vonn’s spirits. After thanking fans for their support in her recovery, she shouted out Team USA for its success in Milan Cortina.

“Good job, team, and keep crushing it,” Vonn said.