When will Mikaela Shiffrin return to the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2023/24? Know about the skiing legend's latest plans

Alpine skiing legend Mikaela Shiffrin is all set to make her comeback at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2023/24 this weekend in Are, Sweden. She will be returning to the snowy slopes after a month, having last skied in a downhill race in Italy at the end of January.

The 2023/24 World Cup campaign was a spectacular one for Shiffrin before she crashed in Italy. The Olympic champion sprained the MCL and tibiofibular ligament in her left knee and has been recovering from the injury since then.

Securing seven victories this season, Shiffrin raced to a record number of 95 World Cup wins in January. Not only was she looking all set to complete the century, but the 28-year-old was leading the standings to secure the record-tying 6th overall World Cup title. Nonetheless, she has come back from the setback and will once again look to make history.

Mikaela Shiffrin's team confirmed the possibility of the American icon's comeback this weekend at the resort in Are. The statement released said:

"Mikaela is improving in slalom and feels that the slalom race is still realistic, but the GS [giant slalom] is in question. We will share more in the coming days."

The giant slalom race is scheduled for Saturday while Shiffrin will be seen in slalom action on Sunday. While she sits third in the overall standings, the alpine skiing queen still leads the slalom standings and will look to extend the lead in Are.

---

"Huge stretch" - Mikaela Shiffrin on her chances of winning 6th overall title

Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Mikaela Shiffrin

Before her downhill crash, Mikaela Shiffrin was poised for her 6th Alpine Skiing overall World Cup title. She led the competition with a huge lead, but when she returns on Sunday, Shiffrin will face a huge deficit of 385 points to top-ranked Lara Gut-Behrami. It could be 100 points higher if the Swedish skier manages to win Saturday's GS.

The 2x Olympic gold medalist recently revealed in a video posted on her Instagram account that she had got back to training but thought it was hard to win the overall title now.

"I’ve been able to get on snow this week. I have done some easy light volume and slalom open gates on flat terrain for two days. I've also tested it out with some light GS free skiing, and things are feeling pretty good."

"As soon as we realised that Andorra and Val di Fassa were not going to be possible, I had to kind of come to terms with the fact that the overall would mathematically be a really huge stretch."

While the overall title does seem a 'huge stretch', the American has the slalom title all but secured. She leads with 630 points while Italian skier Petra Vloha is placed second on 505 points. However, Vloha is out of the season due to injury and Mikaela Shiffrin needs only 12 points (19th place) to finish above the 3rd-placed Lena Duerr (442).