Alpine skiing: Slalom star Neureuther has ankle surgery

German slalom star Felix Neureuther underwent surgery to have a cyst on his left ankle removed in Zurich on Monday, the country’s ski association said Tuesday.

“The growth had increased in size these last few weeks. Consequently, surgical intervention was unfortunately unavoidable,” said Neureuther, who was allowed to go home Tuesday, in a statement.

After going under the knife the slalom specialist spent his recovery at the hospital in a bed adjacent to that of Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who had his right ankle operated on the same day.

The 29-year-old, who finished second to overall champion Marcel Hirscher of Austria in the slalom standings last season, could return to training in a few weeks, added the federation.