Ian Thorpe's management team denies swimming star ever went to rehab

The management team of Australian swimming champion Ian Thorpe has denied reports that the Olympic star is in rehabilitation battling depression and alcohol abuse and instead said that he was in hospital for a shoulder operation.

Media reports claimed that Thorpe was injured in a fall earlier in the week and was admitted to hospital on Wednesday although his management, SEL, said the report he had been admitted to a rehabilitation facility was incorrect.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, a SEL representative insisted that Thorpe is not in rehabilitation, adding that he was in a hospital for an operation on his shoulder and is now out of hospital and on his way to recovery.

Friends said that Thorpe has struggled to adjust to life after swimming and with the disappointment of a failed comeback at the London Olympics in 2012.

The report mentioned that the swimming great, who released an autobiography last year in which he admitted his struggle with depression and alcohol abuse, has been seen at social events over the New Year, including at the Australian Open in Melbourne.