Marcel Hirscher out for season after knee injury in training crash

Eight-time overall World Cup champion **Marcel Hirscher** is out for the season after tearing his left cruciate ligament in a training crash on the Reiteralm.

Hirscher slipped during a right-hand turn on the Reiteralm training slope, grabbed his left knee, and immediately knew the damage. On Instagram, he posted: “Cruciate ligament gone, project over.” The 35-year-old had not fallen but felt the injury strike as he skidded out.

The injury ends Hirscher’s 2025/26 World Cup season before it could start. The eight-time overall champion had planned to chase a ninth crystal globe, but the knee rupture forces him off snow for months. His absence reshapes the men’s technical events, where Hirscher’s precision and rhythm often set the pace.

Hirscher will now focus on rehabilitation. The timeline depends on recovery, surgery timing, and post-op progress. His team will outline a return plan once medical assessments are complete. For now, the gates stay shut on his 2025/26 campaign.

Hirscher is one of several top names sidelined early. Mikaela Shiffrin is also recovering from a leg injury, while Manuel Feller missed the Beaver Creek opener with a hip issue. The spate of knocks has thinned the field before the first race in Sölden on 25 October.