MY ACCOUNT
Roger Federer still has the drive to return to the ATP Tour but is yet to run and is still months away in his recovery from a third knee operation.
The 40-year-old 20-time grand slam winner missed last month’s Australian Open after a knee operation in August.
Federer has not played since a quarter-final loss to Hubert Hurkacz at Wimbledon last year and previously said he would be “incredibly surprised” if he was fit to play at the event in 2022.
“It’s a very important next few months ahead of me,” Federer said at a sponsor’s event on Wednesday. “I’ll know a whole lot more in April what my body is going to be like.
“Up until now I was not able to run yet and do the heavy workload. I hope that starts in the next couple of weeks and then we’ll see how my body reacts.
“For now, the drive is there. I’m really motivated to do my work and what I’m allowed to do. I’d love to do way more, but the doctors are holding me back a bit.”
The eight-time Wimbledon champion elaborated on his recovery, revealing he hopes to put weight on his knee again in the coming weeks.
“I can still not run. But I’m working daily in the gym,” Federer said. “I really hope that I can put weight on my knee again in two to three weeks. Then we’ll see how the body reacts so we can hit the ball again in April or May.”
He added: “Of course I wish that everything could go quicker. But the doctors don’t want me to overdo everything.”
