Novak Djokovic looks to be out at least until Hamburg European Open before the Olympic Games where he looks set to make his return as a warm-up. But the 24-time Grand Slam champion could return for Wimbledon if a Serbian doctor's theory is to be believed.
Djokovic suffered a meniscus tear on his right knee during the match against Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round of the 2024 French Open. However, he only found out about the severity of the injury afterwards due to a MRI. He had been playing with pain for sometime but had failed to get it checked out.
He withdrew ahead of his Quarter-Final against Casper Ruud with the Norwegian went on to lose against Alexander Zverev. He decided to get surgery instead of letting it heal on its own. The quick operation was deemed necessary due to the window until his next tournament with the Olympic Games in particular a priority.
Dr Goran Rodic speaking to Sportal said that he could still play both tournaments though with the Serbian doctor pointing towards a football player who plays for Sevilla being back on the pitch after 19 days so it can be done. But whether Djokovic at his age goes fro that approach or more caution remains to be seen.
"An arthroscopy was performed. It belongs to small, weak surgical methods. The body is entered through two holes with a camera and surgical instruments, and then the doctor sees everything in the knee that is wrong."
"We were told that of everything in the knee, and there is a lot of it, only the inner meniscus was damaged. In relation to the troubles that the knee can bring, it belongs to mild injuries and prognostically is the best possible condition."
"The good news is that in 90 per cent of cases it does not require surgical intervention. Maybe Novak's injury did not require surgical intervention, however, we who are involved in the examination of athletes suggest that if it is a battle against time, it should be solved surgically because then the rehabilitation is somewhat faster. That works in favor of Novak."
"I assume that Wimbledon is in his head, I hope so. There are examples, you have Nemanja Gudelj from Sevilla who had a similar situation and he was absent for only 19 days."
In the past day, I had to make some tough decisions after sustaining a meniscus tear during my last match. I’m still processing it all but I am happy to update you that the surgery went well. I am so appreciative of the team of doctors who have been by my side…
