It has been cautioned to Novak Djokovic that his chances of recovering fully from surgery in time for Wimbledon are “very slim.”
The legendary tennis player sustained a ruptured medial meniscus during his Roland Garros fourth-round match, and is now recovering from surgery on his right knee.
Despite needing medical attention throughout his match against Francisco Cerundolo due to an early slip, Djokovic prevailed in five sets.
He declared his withdrawal from the event the next day, and he had surgery at a Parisian clinic. His first recovery could take three to six weeks.
Major doubts surround Djokovic’s ability to compete in the grass-court Grand Slam as Wimbledon begins on July 1. The surgeon who carried out the procedure, Antoana Geromete, says the recovery process is well under way, although he acknowledges it will be difficult for Djokovic to be fit three weeks after the procedure.
He told L’Equipe, “I was very open that everything will depend on the reaction of his knee in the 45 minutes that we spent with Novak, his team, and Vincent Guiard, the doctor of the French Tennis Federation.”
We will watch to see if it stays “dry” and free of pain or edema by progressively increasing the load. Although there will be daily development, it is hard to forecast where it will be in a week, two weeks, and so forth. However, achieving 100% in just three weeks sounds incredibly challenging.
Djokovic could opt not to take any risks at Wimbledon and instead focus all his attention on the 2024 Paris Games, which will also take place at Roland Garros.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner is earmarking the Hamburg European Open as a warm-up event for the Olympics.
Djokovic has often been accused of faking his injuries and there were also question marks about the seriousness of the injury when he struggled against Cerundolo.
But Geromete explained that it was extraordinary that Djokovic managed to continue playing.
“He’s a real force of nature because given the nature of the injury, what he’s done is extraordinary,” he said.
“As many as 99% of people would probably end up immediately in the emergency centre with a ‘locked’ knee. It is a mechanical blockage, and the reality is that only surgery can fix it. It calls into question the unfair criticism of him and the interpretations of those who say it’s not a real injury.”
