Roger Federer announces time off after surprising injury
Roger Federer has dropped a bombshell announcement that he will be taking time off after undergoing a knee surgery.
The 20-time grand-slam champion revealed via his social media channels that he had gone under the knife on Wednesday evening and as a result, would not be returning to his beloved game until after the French Open in June 2020.
The 38-year-old star will come back at what we hope will be his best, just in time for the grass court season before the 2020 Wimbledon Championships and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Federer’s admission on social media confirmed he is to miss at least five events, including the highly anticipated French Open and Indian Wells.
He was also set to compete in the Dubai Open, which will begin on Monday, February 24.
“My right knee has been bothering me for a little while,” he said.
“I hoped it would go away, but after an examination, and discussion with my team, I decided to have arthroscopic surgery in Switzerland yesterday.
“After the procedure the doctors confirmed that it was the right thing to have done and are very confident of a full recovery.
“As a result I will unfortunately have to miss Dubai, Indian Wells, Bogota, Miami and the French Open. I am grateful for everyone’s support. I can’t wait to be back playing again soon, see you on the grass!”
Federer showed no signs of any knee problems while he played against Rafael Nadal in Cape Town earlier this month for a charity exhibition match that over 51,954 fans tuned in to watch.
The star champion carries a near unprecedented record of never retiring from a match.