Figure Skating Injury Report: Pinzarrone, Petrokina, and Daleman Cleared for 2026-2027 Season

The International Skating Union (ISU) has officially released the assignments for the 2026-2027 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, setting the stage for the first full season of the new Olympic cycle. While the return of reigning Olympic champion Alysa Liu has dominated the headlines, the newly published rosters also confirm the healthy return of several top international skaters who spent the past year battling severe injuries and undergoing surgery.[1][2][6]

Leading the injury returns is Belgium's Nina Pinzarrone, the reigning World bronze medalist. Pinzarrone endured a grueling 2025-2026 campaign that began with a fractured toe sustained during off-season training. The fracture, which was complicated by an infection from an open wound, forced her into a six-month layoff and required her to withdraw entirely from last year's Grand Prix circuit.[3][7]

Despite the severe disruption to her training, Pinzarrone managed a late-season comeback, ultimately securing a bronze medal at the 2026 World Championships in Prague. Now fully cleared by her medical team and skating pain-free, the 19-year-old is officially assigned to the upcoming Grand Prix series, allowing her to build toward the 2030 French Alps Games without the lingering physical limitations that hampered her Olympic year.[1][3][7]

Estonia's Niina Petrokina is also entering the new season with a clean bill of health following one of the most remarkable medical recoveries in recent figure skating history. In October 2025, Petrokina underwent surgery to repair her right Achilles tendon—a procedure that typically requires extensive rehabilitation and often sidelines athletes for an entire season.[3]

Defying conventional recovery timelines, Petrokina returned to the ice just two and a half months post-operation. She stunned the skating world by successfully defending her European Championship title in Sheffield this past January. With a full off-season to rebuild her lower-body strength and stabilize her jumping mechanics, Petrokina is slated to feature prominently on the Grand Prix circuit this fall.[3]

In Canada, veteran skater Gabrielle Daleman is preparing for her own international comeback after a multi-year injury battle. The 2018 Olympic team gold medalist suffered a torn ligament during an awkward landing in August 2023, which required surgery. After a brief return to the ice in 2024, a subsequent fall resulted in a bone fracture that necessitated a second operation in December 2024.[4]

Following months of intensive physical therapy, Daleman has been medically cleared for competition. She is scheduled to join the Canadian contingent at the upcoming Ice Challenge in Austria, where she will seek the qualifying scores necessary to re-enter the elite championship tier. Her persistence highlights the grueling nature of the sport and the dedication required to overcome back-to-back surgical interventions.[4]

Meanwhile, in the pairs discipline, 42-year-old Canadian Deanna Stellato-Dudek is continuing her historic career after a terrifying head injury sustained during a practice session on January 30, 2026. The injury forced Stellato-Dudek and her partner, Maxime Deschamps, to withdraw from the Olympic team event in Milan, raising immediate concerns about her future in the sport.[5]

Working closely with Skate Canada's medical staff, Stellato-Dudek made a rapid recovery, clearing concussion protocols in time to compete in the individual pairs event. To mitigate further risk, the duo made the strategic decision to remove their signature backflip from their routine. As they look toward the 2026-2027 season, their focus remains on balancing elite technical difficulty with long-term health and safety.[5]

The successful rehabilitation of these athletes injects significant depth into the women's and pairs fields for the upcoming Grand Prix season. As the sport transitions into a new quadrennial, the advanced medical protocols and cautious return-to-play strategies employed by national federations are proving vital in extending the careers of figure skating's brightest stars.[1][2]