French ski racer Alexis Pinturault is uncertain whether he will continue his career after another injury setback left him thinking about retirement.
The three-time Olympic medalist says he has six weeks on crutches awaiting him following his ski accident last Friday, a prospect he calls "the biggest hell."
The 33-year-old Pinturault, a giant slalom specialist, crashed in a super-G and was airlifted from the course in Kitzbuehel, Austria.
Pinturault broke the internal tibial plateau in his right knee -- which does not need surgery -- and was expected to gradually start rehabilitation around mid-March.
Pinturault only returned to racing in Beaver Creek, Colorado, in December, and last week's race was only his eighth since an 11-month layoff after rupturing the cruciate ligaments and internal meniscus in his left knee following a crash in super-G at Wengen.
Retirement has crept into his thoughts in the past few days.
"Oh, yes, I thought about it strongly. Last year I was already thinking about it after my injury, now probably even more so," Pinturault told reporters on Friday in a video call. "Even as we speak my choice is not totally clear. I need more time to think about it."
He spent four months on crutches during his previous injury and last week's accident was a massive psychological blow.
"You have to go through it to understand it. The hardest part is that the first period of rehabilitation was already very long," he said. "Then you start feeling a bit better for a couple of months, you get the green light. To then get injured again is extremely difficult to accept."
He finds out next week if he needs surgery on his internal meniscus.
Pinturault has won 34 World Cup races, more than half in giant slalom, and he clinched the 2021 overall championship. Pinturault has eight medals, including three golds, in world championships.
If he does resume skiing he says it is "highly probable" he will not take part in downhills and "probable" he'll scrap super-G, in order to prioritize giant slalom ahead of next year's Winter Olympics at Milan-Cortina in Italy.
"Clearly I will have to make choices. There are a lot of questions to answer," he said. "It's probable that I'll concentrate only on giant (slalom). If I do come back, it won't be for many seasons. So I'll have to focus on the (discipline) where I had the most podiums."
Either way, Pinturault does not intend to follow in the footsteps of Lindsey Vonn and compete at 40.
"I'm young compared to some, and I'm old compared to others. I'm not sure I'll be among the athletes who can keep going until 40. It's not really my age that's a factor, it's whether I want to carry on, which means going through this all over again. I'm going to spend another 45 days on crutches, which is the biggest hell."