Italian Marta Bassino faces a battle to be fit for next year's Winter Olympics on home snow after suffering a leg fracture during training on Wednesday ahead of the start of the World Cup season.

Bassino, 29, was preparing in Val Senales for this weekend's season-opening giant slalom in Solden, Austria when she crashed on a flat section and injured her leg.

"She was immediately assisted by the FISI Medical Commission, she went to the Merano hospital, where an X-ray revealed a lateral fracture of the tibial plateau of her left leg," an Italian Winter Sports Federation statement said.

"Marta is currently undergoing an additional control CT scan to further assess the extent of the injury, after which the FISI Medical Commission, in agreement with the athlete, will decide how to proceed."

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