Roger Federer to miss 2022 Australian Open, won't return before summer

The news should not come as a surprise to anyone who has followed the Roger Federer story closely. A month ago rumors started swirling that Federer will compete at the 2022 Australian Open but that was highly unlikely considering the timeline of his injuries and surgeries. Just in October Federer was spotted walking with a cane and to expect him to play a few months after that was simply unrealistic.

After the surgery Federer said:

"This summer it was decided to suture the lesion to my meniscus, which involves some downtime, The doctors took the opportunity to also treat my cartilage. The combination of these two procedures requires patience and caution."

His return is set to happen around the midpoint of 2022 during the summer. It's not yet clear when Federer will return but his coach Ivan Ljubicic said last week that the Australian Open is very unlikely and now it's confirmed. Federer also recently said:

"My life is not going to collapse if I don't play a Grand Slam final again, But it would be the ultimate dream to go back. And in fact, I still believe in it. I believe in these kinds of miracles."