Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn has withdrawn from next week's downhill event in Colorado, but remains hopeful she will be able to return within two weeks at the World Cup in Lake Louise, Alberta, according to USA TODAY Sports.
Vonn, who suffered a partial tear of her surgically-repaired ACL during a training session in Colorado earlier this month, is hoping to be back on the slopes within days and on Friday graciously thanked all her supporters for their well wishes, the newspaper reported.
"Thank you all so much for your support and well wishes," Vonn wrote on Facebook. "It has been a very difficult few days and your positive messages have helped tremendously. Rehab is going well and I am working as hard as I can to race in Lake Louise in a few weeks. Thank you again, I'm proud to have the best fans in the world! Love, Lindsey."
Though the full extent of Vonn's injury remains unclear, USA TODAY reports doctors are hopeful such a mild tear may only require a few weeks of rest before she is able to resume competing. A higher grade tear would require a longer recovery period and presumably put her Olympic chances in jeopardy.
"Lindsey is recovering very quickly from abrasions to her face and contusions to her shoulder blade," longtime publicist Bill Sterett said in a statement. "Beyond that, she has a stable knee with an MRI finding of a partial tear of her ACL graft. With therapy, she is progressing well while not losing any of the strength she worked so hard to achieve."
Vonn's injury came nine months after tearing the ACL and MCL in her right knee and fracturing her tibia in a brutal crash in Austria.
Vonn and Woods began publicly dating in early 2012 and she has often raved about how their competitive natures are a good fit for one another.
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