World champion figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva may miss the Grand Prix Final next month because of a broken foot.
FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 file photo, Russia's Evgenia Medvedeva displays her gold medal after her free program at the European Figure Skating Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
Widely considered the favorite for the Olympic gold medal in February, Medvedeva is unbeaten in two years.
However, she revealed on Tuesday that her two grand prix wins this season were achieved on painkillers because of a fractured metatarsal bone, and her right foot has been in plaster since she won the NHK Trophy this month.
"I'm doing everything to recover," Medvedeva said in a statement on the Russian Figure Skating Federation website. "If the doctors won't allow me to compete in Japan (for the Dec. 7-10 Grand Prix Final), it will be the worst-case scenario. It will be very hard for me to watch from the side as the other athletes compete."
The two-time world and European champion has never missed a competition due to injury.