"It hurts every time he pushes for the serve": Continued worries for Rune as pain relieving medication not helping injury

Doubts about Holger Rune's physical condition continue after he withdrew from the Davis Cup with Denmark on Saturday.

The World No. 4 withdrew from the fourth match of the Davis Cup series against Brazil. In the opening day, Rune fought hard but couldn't defeat Thiago Monteiro, who secured the victory over Rune with a score of 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-2 in nearly three hours of play.

It was expected that the 20-year-old athlete would compete again on Saturday to help his country in the series, but he was eventually replaced by Elmer Møller. His mother and manager, Aneke Rune, stated in a written response that there is an issue with his back:

"That's why he couldn't finish the match yesterday. It hurts every time he pushes for the serve. And large doses of ibuprofen haven't worked.

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“So, he needs to have an injection in his back to address the inflammation that's there now," Aneke Rune explains.

“[Injury] It happened in Rome and worsened during the French Open because he swayed so much during his serve," elaborates Aneke Rune.

The consequence was a protrusion in the vertebrae of his back, a pinched nerve that caused him unbearable pain and inflammation:

"Lars has adjusted the serving motion, and it feels good, but obviously, we can't reduce the inflammation with ibuprofen. And it needs to go away because it's unbearable for Holger to play in pain. Yesterday (Friday), he said, 'I don't want to take more pills; it doesn't help,” she added.

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"The good news is that everyone says it won't be detrimental to his career in the long run because it has developed from repeated incorrect movements. But that doesn't change the fact that it's unbearable for Holger. So, the inflammation needs to be resolved now, so he can finish the year well,"

Rune's next scheduled event is the Laver Cup, where he is part of Team Europe, facing off against the rest of the world next weekend, although there are still no guarantees of his participation.