(CNN) -- Ski queen Lindsey Vonn has put her return to racing on ice -- for now. The new World Cup ski season begins in the Austrian resort of Soelden this weekend but the Olympic downhill champion will not take part as she continues her comeback from a serious knee injury. Vonn was airlifted to hospital February after she landed heavily on her right knee on the opening day of the Alpine Ski World Championships in Austria. Less than seven months after her horror crash, the 29-year-old American returned to the slopes in Chile to test out her reconstructed knee.
@highlight
Lindsey Vonn will not compete in the opening World Cup skiing event in Soelden, Austria
@highlight
The American Olympic champion is recovering from a serious knee injury
@highlight
"Not racing is very hard for me," says Vonn
@highlight
Olympic super combined champion Bode Miller returns to World Cup racing
A combination of illness and injury disrupted Vonn's dominance on the slopes last season but she is confident she remains on course to defend her @placeholder crown.