INNSBRUCK, Austria — Olympic champion Matthias Mayer was released from the hospital Wednesday, 11 days after breaking two vertebrae while wearing a protective air bag in a much-debated World Cup downhill crash.

“I am basically doing very well,” the Austrian skier said at a news conference, adding he expected to get back on skis in August to prepare for the 2016-17 season.

One of his surgeons, Klaus Galiano, said he expected Mayer to “fully recover” with his back regaining its usual strength, enabling a return to World Cup racing.

During the Dec. 19 downhill in Val Gardena, Mayer lost control and spun around, flying down the hill backward before landing hard on his right side. He was airlifted to a local hospital and underwent surgery the next day in Austria.

Galiano said Mayer broke his sixth and seventh vertebrae, and a defective position of the latter made immediate surgery necessary.

It was the first time a safety air bag was inflated during a race, prompting a debate among skiers.