Olympic champion Evan Lysacek has withdrawn from next week's U.S. Figure Skating Championships. U.S. Figure Skating made the announcement today in a release on its website. Lysacek's withdrawal is the latest in a slew of injury-related withdrawals from two of the biggest competitions of the season, next week's U.S. Nationals and European Figure Skating Championships.
Lysacek was slated to return to competition this season at Skate America during the fall, but was forced to withdraw after suffering a groin injury. He had surgery to repair a sports hernia in November, and many suspected that he would not be recovered in time for Nationals.
In the statement from U.S. Figure Skating, Lysacek says he has been back to full training but is not yet ready for Nationals. He will be aiming for a return next season in hopes of qualifying for the Sochi Olympics to defend his title. Lysacek has won the U.S. title twice.
Last weekend, fellow U.S. champion Alissa Czisny dislocated her hip and will miss Nationals as well. The European Championships has lost three of its biggest names to injury, defending ladies' silver medalist Kiira Korpi, defending ice dance champions Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat, and defending pairs' silver medalists Vera Bazarova/Yuri Larionov.
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