Knee injury dashes Schwarz's hopes of World Cup ski crown

The Austrian ski federation issued a statement confirming the 28-year-old Schwarz had torn knee ligaments when he fell in Thursday's downhill at Bormio.

He underwent scans after being taken by helicopter to hospital in Innsbruck.

"After examining the scan, the fears became a sad certainty," read a statement from the federation.

"Schwarz suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, a torn meniscus and slight damage to the cartilage in his right knee."

Schwarz had targeted the overall crown by declaring he would compete in every race this season -- up to Thursday it had appeared to be paying off.

He went into the race eight points ahead of Switzerland's Marco Odermatt.

The Swiss skier looks set for a third overall title -- with Schwarz ruled out he leads his nearest rival Frenchman Cyprien Sarrazin by 336 points.

vg/lve/pi/cw