Roger Federer almost certain to miss Wimbledon, reveals he won’t return until end of European summer
Roger Federer says any return to tournament play after his knee surgery last year won’t happen until at least the end of the European summer.
The 40-year-old tennis great gave an update on his long rehabilitation to Swiss TV channel SRF when he attended a Women’s Skiing World Cup in Lenzerheide, where he has a home.
He confirmed Federer’s comments last November that he would not return in time for Wimbledon in June, although he did not specify his plans for the US Open which begins on August 29.
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The Swiss legend’s comments came after one of his coaches, Severin Luthi, also expressed doubts whether the eight-time Wimbledon champion would return in time for the grass-court Grand Slam.
Federer told SRF that his rehabilitation is progressing well enough that he is now thinking about playing again.
“I walked on crutches for two months and had to start all over again,” he said.
“But it was the right thing. The knee wasn’t good after Wimbledon. It couldn’t go on like this.”
Federer revealed he was in the second of three phases of his rehabilitation process after knee surgery, adding that a recent MRI had shown ‘very good’ results which made him confident of a return to the field .
Previously, Federer said the motivation for undergoing surgery last August was to protect his future quality of life with his family rather than returning to competitive tennis.
Luthi also revealed that Federer returned to the pitch this week to hit some balls with his wife, Mirka.
Federer’s 20 Grand Slam singles titles are tied with Novak Djokovic and now one shy of Rafael Nadal who won his 21st in January at the Australian Open.
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