Puckett separates shoulder, needs quick recovery to make fifth Olympics

Puckett’s tumble puts Olympic trip in jeopardy

VAIL, Colo. — Casey Puckett’s push to make his fifth Olympics is in jeopardy after enduring a severe shoulder injury in France.

Puckett, the 37-year-old, four-time Olympian in Alpine, came out of retirement to try to make it back to the Olympics in skicross this year.

He finished fourth in a race in France last week, but didn’t make it to the bottom in the final because of a nasty crash in which he separated his shoulder from his collarbone.

In a blog posting Wednesday, Puckett said he was awaiting the results of an MRI and was “actually optimistic” after speaking with doctors.

His fourth-place finish put him in good position to make the U.S. freestyle team, which will be named later this month.