Cristiano Ronaldo has sent an emotional message to Lindsey Vonn after the US athlete revealed she nearly lost her leg in a ski crash at the Winter Olympics.
The 41-year-old veteran, who was returning to the sport after five years, suffered a horrific crash while competing at Milano-Cortina.
She was airlifted to a hospital where she underwent multiple surgeries before finally being discharged.
Vonn, who revealed her leg was nearly amputated after the crash, has been flooded with messages from across the sporting world, including legendary footballer Ronaldo.
Taking to social media, the 41 year old icon wrote: “Champions are defined by the moments they win, and the moments they refuse to give up.
“@lindseyvonn the mountains you conquered were never bigger than the strength you carry.
“Keep fighting. Legends always rise.”
Among other athletes to offer their words to the recovering Olympian was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who added: “Giving up is not an option.”
Lindsey Vonn has thanked her doctor for “saving her life” after nearly losing her leg | INSTAGRAMThe 41-year-old American skiing legend shared the harrowing details in an Instagram video posted on Monday, revealing the true severity of her injuries.
She said: “Dr Tom Hackett saved my leg, he saved my leg from being amputated.
The 2010 Olympic champion, widely regarded as the second-most-successful female World Cup skier in history, suffered the accident just 13 seconds into her run on February 8.
She said: “It basically crushes everything in the compartment – muscles, nerves, tendons, it all dies. He did what is called a fasciotomy, where he cut open both sides of my leg, let it breathe, and he saved me.”
Cristiano Ronaldo sends emotional message to Lindsey Vonn
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Dr Hackett, an orthopaedic surgeon working for Team USA, performed an emergency fasciotomy to address the life-threatening complication.
The procedure was followed by a six-hour reconstructive operation, which Vonn described as having gone “amazingly well”.
She revealed: “I was in the hospital a little longer than I hoped because I had very low haemoglobin from the blood loss from all the surgeries.
“I was really struggling, the pain was a little bit out of control and I had to have a blood transfusion.”
Lindsey Vonn revealed she has had a third surgery after breaking her tibia during the downhill skiing final | INSTAGRAM/LINDSEYVONNAfter spending nearly a fortnight confined to a hospital bed with extremely limited mobility, the skiing star has now been transferred to a hotel.
She added: “It’s not home yet, but it’s a huge step!”
Ronaldo, who is infamous for his longevity in football, recently returned to the Al-Nassr lineup following a strike.
He scored two goals in his most recent appearance, a 4–0 victory over Al Hazem on February 21 and is looking to head to the World Cup with the Portuguese squad in the summer.
