Lindsey Vonn Has Knee Surgery, Doctors "Optimistic for a Full Recovery"

USMagazine, Monday, February 11, 2013, 8:30am (PST)

Lindsey Vonn is officially one step closer to getting back on her skis. On Sunday, Feb. 10 -- five days after she suffered two torn ligaments in an accident during the super-G at the Alpine Ski World Championships in Austria -- the 28-year-old Olympic gold medalist underwent successful surgery on her right knee.

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U.S. Ski Team physician Dr. Bill Sterett, who performed the procedure in Vail, Colo., said after the operation that everything had gone well and that Vonn was resting comfortably. He also noted that he was "optimistic for a full recovery" for the four-time World Cup champion.

"The overall success rate for ACL-MCL [anterior cruciate ligament-medial collateral ligament] surgery is very good," Dr. Sterett said in a statement. "Modern surgical techniques combined with aggressive rehabilitation will help Lindsey make a full recovery. She will do everything in her power to return as quickly as possible to competitive skiing."

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Sterett did not have a return date to the sport for his patient, but Vonn will miss at least the rest of this season. However, the United States Ski Team said after her accident that she was expected to compete in the 2013-14 World Cup, which begins in October, and in the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia.

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Two days before her surgery, Vonn got a very posh ride home aboard a private plane belonging to rumored hookup Tiger Woods. She and the scandal-prone golfer -- who split from wife Elin Nordegren in 2010 following his epic infidelity -- have been romantically linked since they hit the Austrian slopes together in November.

"They've been seeing each other for the past nine months or so regularly," a source told Us Weekly of the hush-hush pair. (Vonn is also recently divorced, having split from husband Thomas Vonn after 11 years together in 2011.)

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Lindsey Vonn Has Knee Surgery, Doctors "Optimistic for a Full Recovery"