Some of you may already be aware, but our 2011 Skier of the Year, Mr. Tom Wallisch, is currently on the DL. In the midst of some major competitions, many people are wondering what happened to the man. More importantly, when will he be back?

We caught up with Tom this afternoon via Skype, and he gave us a run-down on all the latest.

Tom, we understand you've recently injured a wing. What's the prognosis?

Well yep! I've got an injured wing. It's my left shoulder once again. I've broken my collarbone twice on this same side as well. It is starting to seem like my "Achilles heel" of sorts, my major weakness.

Bummer. How did it happen?

I was skiing at Park City, and caught an edge on a box. I flipped off the end of the box right onto my shoulder. It hurt at the time yes, but I really didn't think anything of it. I assumed it was some deep muscle bruising, because it was sore and weak, but not all that painful. After a week or two of rest and ice, I began to think something else might be wrong. I started going to physical therapy for it, and then eventually had it looked at by an orthopedic. When the X-rays came back I found out that I had in fact fractured my scapula! Who would've guessed!? I thought broken bones were accompanied by pain, but I guess not, haha.

Lots of people are concerned, given you're missing out on the Winter Dew Tour Killington and the Denver Big Air. Also, X Games 15 is right around the corner. What's your recovery time looking like?

Not positive on the recovery time yet. It's really all up in the air (like George Clooney) because of my late diagnosis. It could take anywhere from another week to 4 weeks to heal. I'm going to have another orthopedic take a look at it and try to dial in some positive ideas on recovery time before I drop out of anymore events. It isn't looking good though, unfortunately. 🙁

What have you been doing since the injury? Are you taking any special measures to make sure it gets back to 100% asap.

I'm just trying to do everything the doctor says, and give my shoulder a ton of time to rest without straining it. As soon as the bone is healed, I'll do a ton of excercising to get it back in shape asap!

Is it tough to sit back and watch as a big event like Dew is going on right now? How does that change your mindset going forward?

It definitely sucks missing out on big events and watching other people have fun from the sidelines, but it is what it is. I'm just really happy it isn't worse. Injury is a major part of our sport unfortunately, and being sidelined always makes you appreciate the days on hill more.

I guess I'll have the same mindset to go out and work on new stuff, and dial-in the same tricks I already have that I know do well at comps, but I'm definitely a little more anxious and motivated to get back out there. It's easy at the beginning of the season to go into every event, thinking, if I dont do well at this one, then I'll do fine at the next one. So to miss one or two events for a reason out of your control kinda sucks. It adds a bit more pressure to do well at the ones you do indeed get to ride in. So yeah, I'll definitely be hungry.

What's the first thing you're going to do when you're back on skis?

I'm just anxious to heal up and get back out for a long fun filled park day with my friends. Just excited to catch some fatty air ya know!?

Thanks, Tom! All the best for a speedy recovery.