Slalom champ Schild to return to World Cup circuit

Former slalom champion Marlies Schild will return to the World Cup circuit on Saturday, 13 months after breaking her left leg.

The 28-year-old Schild will start in the first slalom race of the season in Levi, Finland, Austria women's head coach Herbert Mandl said Wednesday.

However, world super-combi champion Kathrin Zettel had been ruled out because of illness, Mandl said.

Schild broke her left lower leg in a crash prior to last year's season-opening races in Soelden. She was back on skis for the first time in July.

Schild has won 20 World Cup races and took the 2007 and '08 slalom titles as well as the 2007 super-combi title.