"Never felt that kind of pain before"- Mikaela Shiffrin weighs in on devastating World Cup crash that needed surgery 

Mikaela Shiffrin recently spoke about her crash during her participation in the FIS Alpine World Cup race in Killington, Vermont. The American Alpine skier shed light on the severity of the injury that needed surgery a week after the horror crash.

Shiffrin competed in the World Cup in Killington in an attempt to create history by registering the 100th World Cup title. However, tragedy struck the athlete after a strong start where she lost control towards the end of the race and veered off the track, crashing into the protective nets moments before crossing the finish line.

The impact of the high-speed crash was such that, Mikaela Shiffrin could not move until she was attended by the ski patrol. The former World Cup Champion was then taken to a nearby medical centre for further evaluation and she took to social media to share an update on her condition.

Shiffrin revealed that she suffered an abrasion in her hip that had restricted her movement; however, she was out of danger. Three weeks after the crash, she shared an excerpt from her latest YouTube video where she speaks about the crash.

Weighing in on the impact of the crash she said:

"I've never felt that kind of pain before."

Her fiance, Aleksander, also spoke about the crash and recalled being very worried as the American skier was not moving while she was being attended by the Ski Patrol.

"She was not moving, she was just laying there. She is not even lifting her legs," he said.

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Why did Mikaela Shiffrin have to undergo surgery despite being out of danger?

Mikaela Shiffrin during a training session at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Women's Giant Slalom - Source: Getty

Mikaela Shiffrin had to undergo surgery a week after the crash. The 29-year-old revealed that the deep puncture wound that she suffered had a cavity that had clotted blood. After a medical evaluation, the doctors expressed that cleaning the wound would be the right decision.

“It is a deep puncture wound with quite a lot of severe muscle trauma. I was really lucky because it was probably like a millimeter from my colon. The wound vac just wasn’t quite able to do the proper work to drain the fluid out of my body so it could heal. That’s where the surgery came in. We discovered a pocket of fluid that was untouched by the wound vac," she said. (as quoted by skiracing.com)

“We were trying to avoid surgery because it meant opening up the area more, which causes a bit more damage. In the end, it was probably the best option to clean out the wound and figure out what was going on in there," she added.

Currently, Shiffrin is undergoing rehabilitation for the injury and aims to make a full recovery in the upcoming months as the Alpine Skiing season unfolds.