Former ski jumping world champion Sarah Hendrickson shared details of a severe back injury which delayed her return to competition ©Getty Images

Former ski jumping world champion Sarah Hendrickson shared details of a severe back injury which has delayed her return to competition. 

The American, winner of the women's individual normal hill event at the 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, has not competed at a World Cup event since March 2018.

She took a break from competitive ski jumping at the end of the Olympic season in 2018 and participated at three Continental Cup competitions in September 2019.

The 25-year-old, who won the inaugural Women's Ski Jumping World Cup title in 2012, has not featured on the international stage since.

In a blog post, Hendrickson has now shared details of a back injury which she has been battling since last year.

"The results shocked my coaches, parents, doctors and physiotherapist," she said.

"They could not believe the severity of the herniated disc in L4-L5. 

"It was so far out, you could see the pressure it was putting on my spinal column and nerves. 

"My hips and IT were not right; my nerve was just sending that pain to my brain because of the impingement. 

"The second our team doctors saw that image, I was forbidden to jump. 

"In addition to this pain, I had been slowly losing control of my right toe/ankle control. 

"I did not have "drop foot" but it was going down that direction. 

"This was serious."

Hendrickson took a break from competitive ski jumping after the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang ©Getty Images
Hendrickson took a break from competitive ski jumping after the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang ©Getty Images

She then discussed the surgery she underwent and her recovery over the past six months. 

With the majority of sport suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hendrickson revealed that she saw this enforced break as a positive.

"As the world is at a halt, so are most athletic related activities," she said. 

"For me, this is working out well because it is giving me time to think and process what my next plans are. 

"It is nice to have this time to do school, work and go through the scenarios that could play into my future. 

"Like so many others, the next months are quite uncertain and I am trying to appreciate the time to slow down and remain distant."

Hendrickson could appear in the 2020 to 2021 season, having been selected for the USA Nordic women's squad.  

The women's Ski Jumping World Cup is due to begin on December 5 in Lillehammer, although this is pandemic dependent.