Erik Guay says he has an annular rupture at his L4 verterbra after undergoing an MRI in Innsbruck on Sunday.
Guay was competing at the alpine World Cup event in Val Gardena, Italy, but told CBC Sports after that he “should have stayed at home” to deal with ongoing back issues.
Homeward bound! Had an MRI yesterday in Innsbruck. I have a rupture of the Annulus at L4. Thank you to the Sanatorium Kettenbruck 4 the MRI
The Montreal native turned in a 12th-place finish in the super-G race on Friday, but on Saturday he hurt his back again during the downhill run and placed 32nd.
“I hurt my back halfway down and after that I couldn’t really attack the way I wanted to,” Guay said on Saturday, adding that he “tweaked” his back on Friday.
The 36-year-old said he should have taken more time to recover before returning to the hill.
“I kind of regret coming to be honest. I should have trusted my gut,” said Guay, who had to pull out of the World Cup event at Lake Louise in November.
