Lindsey Vonn ends World Cup season early after latest knee injury

American skier Lindsey Vonn is ending her World Cup season early because of three fractures in her left knee.

The four-time champion, who leads the overall standings, announced Wednesday on her Facebook and Instagram pages that the fractures are “significant enough that they are not sufficiently stable to permit me to safely continue skiing.”

Vonn crashed Saturday in Andorra during a super-G race after catching a spot of soft snow and was taken off the mountain on a rescue sled.

The original X-rays indicated a hairline fracture and Vonn then raced Sunday in the combined event, extending her overall lead by finishing in 13th place.

The 31-year-old Vonn went to Barcelona, Spain, and had an MRI and CT scan that showed she has three fractures in her tibial plateau.

“Because I am currently leading the Overall World Cup standings, this is one of the toughest decisions of my career,” Vonn wrote in her post.

“Further damage (to) any of the fragments could result in a serious surgery that would risk my future in ski racing. With the World Championships in St. Moritz next year and the Winter Olympics in South Korea the following year, I cannot take that risk.”