GENEVA -- Swiss skier Wendy Holdener could miss the rest of the season after having surgery on an ankle injury Tuesday, leaving Mikaela Shiffrin without one of her main slalom rivals.
Holdener crashed into safety nets while training in Italy and fractured her left ankle, the Swiss ski federation said.
The two-time Olympic slalom medalist was due to be operated on Tuesday in Zurich and faces being off skis for about two months, the team said.
Holdener is set to miss at least six World Cup slaloms with two more scheduled in March.
She placed third when Shiffrin won the most recent slalom last month at Killington, Vermont.
It was the 30-year-old racer's 35th podium finish in World Cup slaloms, which includes two wins. She took silver at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and bronze four years later at Beijing.
She also has two world championship titles in combined events, and helped Switzerland win Olympic gold in the team event in 2018.