Roger Federer has sensationally revealed he underwent knee surgery on Wednesday and will be out of action until the summer. In a statement on Twitter, Federer said: “My right knee has been bothering me for a little while.
“I hoped it would go away but after an examination and discussion with my team, I have 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 was last in action on February 7 when he played Rafael Nadal in a record-breaking exhibition in South Africa.
He was scheduled to play next week in Dubai then travel to Indian Wells for the first Masters 1000 event of the year.
But he will now miss those tournaments as well as an exhibition on Colombia, the Miami Open and the entire clay-court season including the French Open.
In 2016, Federer needed surgery to repair a torn meniscus he suffered when giving his kids a bath.
The injury will lead to questions about Federer’s future in the sport.
He turns 39 in August and is in the closing stages of his remarkable career.
At the Australian Open last month, Federer was adamant that he had no plans to retire.
“You never know what the future holds, especially at my age, but I’m confident,” he said.
“I’m happy with how I’m feeling to be honest, got through a good nice training block, have no plans to retire.
“So from that standpoint we’ll see how the year goes and how everything is with the family and we’ll go from there. But of course I hope to be back.”