Slovakian slalom specialist Veronika Velez-Zuzulova will miss the winter Olympic Games in Sochi after undergoing surgery on a ruptured left knee ligament.

The 29-year-old Zuzulova has made 18 World Cup podiums including two victories in Semmering and Munich last season.

The Slovak suffered an inital partial tear of the ligament in October but that transformed into a rupture when she took to the piste again.