"The good part is that there are great chances of this being much better next winter. The bad part is that it's back to the crutches and no more skiing this winter," the 34-year-old wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of him in a hospital bed.

He was then absent from this season's opener in October, postponing his return to competition until early December, when he finished second in the super-G in Val d'Isere.

At the end of December, Svindal said his right knee had been bothering him since the Val Gardena downhill on December 17, where he also came in second, and he opted out of even racing in Wengen last weekend.