Vonn out of giant slalom

VAL D'ISERE, France, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn will miss the giant slalom at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships in France because of an injured thumb.

Vonn cut her right thumb Monday and underwent surgery in Austria Tuesday to repair a tendon. USA ski team officials said they hoped she would be able to race in Thursday's giant slalom and Saturday's slalom.

But Wednesday, USA Coach Jim Tracy said, "Lindsey will take the day to test out a few of the splits that were built specially for her right hand and if everything feels right, we'll move directly into training slalom on Friday."

Vonn has already won the super-G and the downhill -- it was during celebrations for Monday's downhill win that she cut her thumb -- at this year's championships.

She said she's been working with different splints "to help me grip my pole without impact. We'll see how things go the next few days but I'm hoping to race slalom."

Vonn's scratching leaves the United States with Julia Mancuso, Sarah Schleper and Megan McJames in Thursday's giant slalom.