Watch Matthias Lanzinger's fall. WARNING: not for the faint-hearted

Matthias Lanzinger, the Austrian skier, is to have his left leg amputated following a horrific fall in a World Cup race in Norway on Sunday.

Doctors treating the 27-year-old announced they had no alternative but to remove the leg below the knee, after they were unable to re-establish circulation to his foot.

Lanzinger was concussed and broke his left leg in a fall in the World Cup super-G race in Kvitfjell and was air-lifted to a hospital in Oslo where he has undergone two operations since Sunday. He was placed in an artificial coma to help treat his injuries but developed serious vascular problems.

"Unfortunately we were unable to re-establish the blood circulation to his foot which has obliged us to take the decision to amputate," Doctor Lars Engebretsen said.

Lanzinger lost his balance in the high-speed race and was knocked unconscious as his head hit a ski-pole marker. He then crashed to the ground and hurtled down into the safety-netting.

"Unfortunately, his injury was very serious because it seems that his foot was twisted several times around its own axis and this really damaged the bone and soft tissue," Engebretsen said.

The Austrian skier has placed just once on the podium in 37 races, winning third place in the Beaver Creek super-G in the United States in 2005.

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