Roger Federer out for 'several months' after confirming knee surgery

Roger Federer will be out for "several months" after confirming that he will be undergoing yet another surgery to further correct the knee injury he suffered during Wimbledon. The Swiss ace only returned earlier this year after undergoing two knee surgeries last year.

The 40-year-old confirmed his decision to go under the knife on Sunday, which puts an end to his 2021 season. Federer had played just 13 matches this year before he suffered a relapse of the knee injury that has bothered him since 2019.

"I've been doing a lot of checks with the doctors as well on my knee, getting all the information as I hurt myself further during the grass-court season and Wimbledon," Federer said in a video. "That's just not the way to go forward, so unfortunately they told me for the medium to long term to feel better, I will need surgery. I decided to do it."

"I'll be on crutches for many weeks and also out of the game for many months, so it's going to be difficult of course in some ways, but at the same time I know it's the right thing to do because I want to be healthy, I want to be running around later as well again and I want to give myself a glimmer of hope to return to the tour in some shape or form."

Federer delayed his return at the start of the year and even missed most of the clay court swing of the season to be in peak physical condition for Wimbledon. However, his injury recurrence saw him bow out in the quarterfinals in straight sets against Poland's Hubert Hurkacz.

The 20-time men's singles Grand Slam champion is aware that his injury recovery will take longer than before owing to his age. Federer is hoping that he can make a comeback once he completes his rehabilitation, but gave no clarity about the exact timeline with regards to the date of the surgery.