Novak Djokovic forced to weigh up big Wimbledon gamble after conflicting injury reports

It has been widely reported that Novak Djokovic underwent knee surgery in Paris on Wednesday that will almost certainly rule him out of playing at Wimbledon next month, yet the Serbian Olympic Committee President, Bozidar Maljkovic has suggested he has been given different information.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion suffered a knee injury during his five-set win over Francisco Cerundolo in the French Open fourth round on Monday and underwent an MRI scan on Tuesday which revealed a torn medial meniscus in his right knee and forced him to withdraw from the tournament.

Surgery was always likely to be the solution for this kind of injury, with a recovery period of 3-6 weeks appearing to end the Serb’s hopes of playing at Wimbledon.

Yet there was confusion on Wednesday when Serbian Olympic chief Maljkovic offered up these comments, as widely reported in the media.

“My son reads the French press every day and the French wrote, in their very serious media outlets, that Novak Djokovic had surgery. We called his (Novak’s) uncle, and we received information that Novak did not have surgery. I would not like to speculate further,” Maljkovic was quoted as stating.

“In any case, kudos to Novak. To play such a match in such a condition. We would all like him to be with us and lead the Olympic team. He is a wonderful man who makes other athletes better. He showed that in Tokyo.”

Maljkovic’s version of events appears to be wide of the mark as Djokovic is believed to have had the medical procedure required to treat his knee in Paris, as he appreciated every day woild count in his bid to make it back in time for Wimbledon.

Djokovic does not normally play any grass courts events ahead of The Championships at the All England Club so he will not be missing any tournaments due to this injury, but the big decision he will need to make is whether to try and come back at Wimbledon.

Major Novak Djokovic news confirmed with big implications for Wimbledon and his ranking

Playing on grass is a big test for knee joints as you need to get low to the ball and Djokovic’s agility around the court has always been one of his superpowers that has given him an edge over his rivals.

In a year when he has made it clear that his chief focus is on trying to win an Olympic gold medal in the singles at the Paris Games, Djokovic will now face a decision over whether to risk his knee problem at Wimbledon or hold his fire for his attempt to win an elusive medal for Serbia in a tournament that will be staged at the Roland Garros venue that is hosting the French Open.

Shaun O’Brien, consultant orthopaedic surgeon and knee specialist, believes Djokovic’s age and the urgency of the situation is likely to have influenced him to undergo a minor procedure.

“If he was Carlos Alcaraz’s age, I’m sure they would go for a meniscal cartilage repair because he’s got 10, 15 years of a long professional career ahead of him and they want to try to preserve that knee as long as possible,” said O’Brien.

“But, if they repair it, he would be out for several months, there would be no way he would play Wimbledon or the Olympics.

“But, if they just trim back the little bit that’s torn, he’ll be back into light training in about three to four weeks’ time with the hope of maybe getting back to some competitive tennis round about six to eight weeks’ time.

“I’ve got no idea about where the tear is, what the configuration is, how big it is, but he’s probably had it trimmed back a little bit to give him the best chance of playing in the Olympics.”

Djokovic will not have long to make his decision, with Wimbledon set to get underway on July 1.