Cristiano Ronaldo has sent a message to Lindsey Vonn after the American skiing legend revealed in an emotional statement that she nearly faced a leg amputation.
According to Mirror, the 41-year-old was airlifted to hospital after striking a gate merely 13 seconds into the women's downhill competition at the Winter Olympics.
After being confined to a hospital bed in Italy, where she had four major surgeries and later a fifth after returning to the United States, she has now shared that she could have lost her leg if it wasn't for Dr Tom Hackett.
Taking to Instagram on Monday, she posted a video detailing her injuries and explained how her leg was saved. She said, "I had a complex tibia fracture, I also fractured my fibula head and everything was in pieces, and the reason it was so complex was because I had compartment syndrome.”
“Compartment syndrome is when you have so much trauma to one area of your body that there is too much blood and it gets stuck. It basically crushes everything in the compartment - muscles, nerves, tendons, it all kind of, dies. Dr Tom Hackett saved my leg, he saved my leg from being amputated,” she added.
Amongst the thousands of supportive messages was one from Portugal and Manchester United icon Ronaldo, who posted a stirring tribute.
CR7 wrote, “Champions are defined by the moments they win, and the moments they refuse to give up. Lindsey Vonn, the mountains you conquered were never bigger than the strength you carry. Keep fighting. Legends always rise."
Vonn has undergone multiple operations in Italy before travelling back to the United States where she had an additional procedure. However, after a gruelling fortnight, she has now returned home where she will carry on with her recovery.
