Matteo Marsaglia recovering well from surgery

Matteo Marsaglia, the surprise winner of last season’s Beaver Creek super G, had to put on hold his summer training to repair an inguinal hernia, which had been troubling him since last September. While recovering from the surgery he took some time to answer a few questions.
 
FIS: You finally managed to stay away from hospitals and surgeries for a whole season and recently we saw a picture of you in a hospital gown. What happened?

MM: Well you know, I started missing the operation room as I haven’t been to one in almost three years. I think that might be some kind of record for me. I got an inguinal hernia last September but keept it under control during the season and managed to deal with it pretty well the whole winter, but it was obviously getting bigger and bothering me more and more so I decided that using this break in the skiing program to fix it might be the best option.
 
FIS: Where did you have surgery and what is the recovery plan?

MM: Prof. Ernesto Patelli at the Fornaca clinic in Turin operated me.  Once he started the surgery it proved to be a slightly bigger one than what was initially foreseen and therefore it will take me a couple days more than what was initially planned to get back on track with my training schedule.
 
FIS: What is the plan in the upcoming weeks?

MM: I just got home from the hospital and in the next 10/15 days I have to take it really easy, I think my movements will be limited between the bed and the couch. After this first period I will be able to gradually start training again. Unfortunately they say that before a month and a half or two I won’t be ready to train full force or put my skis back on.
 
FIS: How does this forced break from skiing impact your plans with the team?

MM: Luckily the program of the downhill group doesn’t foresee any ski camps before the first week in August when we will be headed to Zermat. I will be missing some dryland camps but if I feel good I might join the tech team for a few days on the GS skis in July.
 
FIS: You had a fantastic season earning your first World Cup victory and finishing in second place in the super G standings, what have you been up to after the Finals in Lenzerheide?

MM: After the finals I went on to do some FIS races and try to improve my giant slalom and downhill points. I am happy with how those races went. I also spent a few days training and testing new materials for next season before doing some promotional activities in Italy and France. The most fun experience was getting to go to Japan for three days of activities with Rossignol Japan. It was a short but really great trip that included some amazing sushi!
 
FIS: Sounds like you had some busy weeks, but are you planning to take some time off and head for a vacation at some point?

MM: Unfortunately this surgery ruined my usual two weeks of surfing at the end of the season so this year I might have to skip vacation. All I want now is to get well as quickly as I can and start training full force for next season. If that all goes well I might try to sneak a few days on a sailing boat or catch a couple of waves just before we move training to South America.

By Ana Jelusic/FIS