Didier Cuche (image: Swiss Ski)

Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Didier Cuche, 35, one of Switzerland’s best skiing hopes for the upcoming Olympic Games in Vancouver, had surgery Saturday 30 January to mend his right thumb, broken in a fall close to the finish line in Kranjska Gora, Slovakia, during Friday’s World Cup Giant Slalom race. Doctors in Zurich said after the operation that they are very pleased, have put in a plate and seven pins to stabilize it and he should be able to start training again within days. Cuche may be able to join the team in Vancouver, but he and doctors will talk about this further in a press conference Sunday.

Cuche also injured his left knee, an MRI scan showed, but doctors expect him to be able to take up training despite several slight injuries to the knee.

Cuche is currently the world’s top-ranked downhill skier and he is in third place overall. He ended third in World Cup rankings for the 2008-2009 season. A week before his accident he won the legendary Kitzbuehel race in Austria.

Links to other sites: About.com, FIS international ski federation, Swiss Ski

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