Medal-winning mogul skier Matt Graham has had to undergo further surgery on the collarbone injury that cruelled his Beijing Olympic campaign.
Graham broke his collarbone in December and raced the clock to be fit for the Games in February, where he was aiming to improve on his silver medal from PyeongChang in 2018.
He developed a haematoma and then had to rely on dry-land training while at home in Australia.
The disrupted preparation counted against the 27-year-old, who made a tearful early exit from competition.
Refusing to blame his collarbone, Graham said it was the "most pain and heartbroken I've ever felt".
Graham said a three month scan of the injury had shown the bones had failed to heal and he required more surgery.
"Unfortunately my 3 month scans showed that my collarbone was not healing, so I have had to undergo another surgery to redo the whole thing," the NSW athlete posted on Instagram, with a photo of the X-ray.
"It is frustrating to be back on the couch for the next couple of months but it is what needs to be done."
Australia won a gold medal in mogul skiing in Beijing with Jakara Anthony topping the podium in the women's event.
