Kucera to miss 2010 Winter Games after surgery

CALGARY (Reuters) - Canada's downhill world champion John Kucera will miss next year's Vancouver Olympics after undergoing surgery to repair a badly broken left leg, Alpine Canada said Monday.

Kucera had undergone successful surgery Sunday after he earlier fractured the tibia and fibula in his left leg in a crash during the season-opening World Cup super-G in Lake Louise, the team said in a statement on their website (canski.org/).

However, Alpine Canada medical director Christopher Irving had "indicated that due to the nature of the injury and expected length of time for recovery, Kucera will be unable to compete at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games," the statement said.

Alpine Canada's chief athletics officer Max Gartner said: "John Kucera is known as a ski racer with a determined approach to achieving his goals. We are confident that he will set about his rehabilitation process the same way that he has approached his career on the slopes."

The 25-year-old Canadian was regarded as one of the country's top medal hopes in Vancouver.

Last season, Kucera established his downhill credentials with gold at the world championships but had also emerged as a threat in the super-G with three World Cup podium finishes.

(Writing by Steve Keating; editing by Ian Ransom)