Marcel Hirscher is working on his comeback. The ski star reveals how his body is doing after the ACL tear.
Will Marcel Hirscher ever reach his old performance level again? The ski star is working hard on his comeback after tearing his ACL almost a year ago, which he is aiming for in January. Now, the 36-year-old has spoken about what his knee is still capable of.
The Austrian native, who now competes for the Netherlands in the World Cup, explained on the show Sport & Talk aus dem Hanger 7 on ServusTV that his knee had needed a lot of attention in recent months. “It was a very long road for me with a lot of rehab,” Hirscher reported.
Ski racer Marcel Hirscher is working on his comeback
Never again fast skiing for legend Hirscher?
He revealed that the many days of training would do him good and that he had regained his competition weight physically. “I also feel better than last year,” the ski star described: “When you hit a turn, it’s something special.”
However, he added a worrying addition: “I have no idea if it will be enough for fast skiing again, that will be difficult. But it is my passion.” OE24 even headlined “Hirscher shocks fans with announcement” in view of this statement.
Alpine skiing: Plan for comeback in January
Last year, Hirscher celebrated his surprising comeback in the World Cup after actually ending his career in 2019. But shortly after his return, he scored his ACL.
The two-time Olympic champion and seven-time world champion wants to get back into competition as early as possible and is aiming for January.
How the ACL tear shaped Hirscher
“The goal is that I don’t go to the start as unprepared as I did in Gurgl last year. Nothing comes out of it, that was also a lesson of this time,” said Hirscher, who at least wants to be competitive and compete for qualification for the 2nd run when he makes his comeback. He knows that he still has a lot of work ahead of him, explained the 36-year-old.
At the same time, the ski star admitted that the past months had been mentally difficult for him because of the ACL injury: “I thought that a bone would break in a fall before, but not that a ligament would give way without a mistake or fall. That’s why it was difficult to regain confidence in exactly the curves where the injury happened.”
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