MILAN -- Overall World Cup skiing champion Federica Brignone was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday, five days after breaking multiple bones in her left leg in a giant slalom crash and undergoing surgery.
"I still don't know how long it will take (to return)," Brignone told reporters as she sat in a wheelchair before leaving the La Madonnina clinic in Milan. "We'll go step by step. The next step is post-operation therapy and we'll start Monday. And then we'll see how the bone reacts and we'll take it from there."
Brignone also tore her ACL, raising questions about her chances of competing at the home Olympics in 10 months. She was expected to be one of Italy's stars in the Milan-Cortina Games.
"I'm not someone who gives up," Brignone said. "I think everything in life happens for a reason."
After her crash at the Italian championships at the Lusia ski area in Val di Fassa, Brignone was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Trento then transferred to Milan, where she was operated on on the same day.
"I realized only after the operation how much I risked," Brignone said. "Everything they did to reduce the waiting time and avoid complications was decisive."
Italian Winter Sports Federation medical chief Andrea Panzeri also said it was too early to say when Brignone might race again.
"That will take at least 45 days," Panzeri said of when they could develop a timeline.
Brignone won 10 World Cup races across three different disciplines (five giant slaloms, three super-Gs and two downhills) this season. She also won the giant slalom at the world championships and took silver in super-G in February. At 34, she became the oldest woman to win a World Cup race.
"It was the greatest time of my life," Brignone said. "But unfortunately if you ski for a profession, (injury) can happen."