March 30, 2007 – Former nordic combined sprint world champion Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, CO) is resting and rehabbing his right shoulder after surgery to repair a broken bone with cadavers. He plans to be “ready to roll” for next season.

Spillane, 26 and a three-time Olympian in the sport that mixes ski jumping and cross country skiing, underwent the surgery Monday at The Orthopedic Surgery Hospital in Salt Lake City. He injured it during dryland training in February, on the eve of the World Championships in Japan, and eventually had to stop his World Cup season a week early because of the pain.

He has to keep his right arm in a sling for a month or more, depending on recovery, he said, and then will move through the next stage of rehab. “I’ll be extra patient with this; I want it to heal extra strong,” he said.

Doctor Michael Metcalf operated on Spillane, repairing the broken coracoid process, reattaching it to his shoulder blade, sewing a cadaver graft into the ligaments to provide stability to the collarbone and shoulder.

“We’re hard on our shoulders, and surgery last year apparently had weakened it,” Spillane explained. “My arm and shoulder have to be completely supported all the time. It’s been so frustrating these last couple of years, but I’ll be ready to roll next season, and I’m looking for a few years without injuries.”