Australian swimming great Ian Thorpe has checked himself into rehab in Sydney while he battles depression and alcohol abuse.
The 31-year-old, five time Olympic medallist Thorpe has been living in Switzerland for 18 months, but returned to Sydney to spend Christmas period with his family.
He was injured in a fall earlier this week and was admitted to hospital on Wednesday night.
Friends say Thorpe has struggled to adjust to life after swimming, and with the disappointment of a failed comeback at the London Olympics in 2012.
Thorpe released an autobiography last year in which he revealed that not even his family was aware that he'd spent much of his life battling what he could only describe as crippling depression.
