Czech skier Tereza Nova remains in an induced coma after suffering a heavy fall during World Cup downhill training at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, during the weekend.

The 26-year-old underwent an operation to reduce swelling on the brain on Sunday local time after a crash in training the previous day.

The Czech ski federation said Nova would “remain in a medically induced coma for as long as the doctors deem it necessary”.

Nova’s compatriot Ester Ledecka, the Olympic skiing super-G and snowboard parallel giant slalom champion in Pyeongchang in 2018, did not take the start of Sunday’s downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, won by Italy’s Federica Brignone.

“We are all thinking of Tereza and wish her a speedy recovery and lots of strength,” an association spokesman told the Czech newspaper Sport.

The serious injury to Nova is part of a spate of falls that have rocked alpine skiing in recent weeks.

Austrian Nina Ortlieb was diagnosed with a fractured leg, having screamed in pain after crashing out during the downhill on Sunday, with the race delayed by 30 minutes as she was treated beside the piste.

Following surgery, Ortlieb wrote on social media that her “nightmare had become reality”.

“I can’t find the right words at the moment, but I’m very grateful for the support and messages. Knowing that I’m not alone makes it easier.”

While in the men’s events in Kitzbuehel, Austria, on Saturday, French pair Alexis Pinturault and Florian Loriot and Italy’s Dominik Paris had to be airlifted off the slopes after crashes.

On December 27, defending Kitzbuehel downhill champion Cyprien Sarrazin of France had his season cut short after undergoing surgery to treat internal bleeding in his head following a harrowing accident in Bormio.