Novak Djokovic issues ‘progress’ update: Will he stun medical experts and play at Wimbledon?

Just over a week ago, it appeared Novak Djokovic’s hopes of playing at Wimbledon were dealt a fatal blow after he underwent surgery, but he is sticking to his vow to “return to the court as soon as possible”.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner sustained a meniscus tear in his right knee during his fourth-round match against Francisco Cerundolo at Roland Garros on June 3 and the following day he withdrew from his quarter-final match.

On June 5 it was confirmed that he had undergone surgery and the day after he gave an update as he revealed “surgery went well”. He also expressed his determination to return to action.

“I’m going to do my best to be healthy and fit to return to the court as soon as possible,” he stated. “My love for this sport is strong and the desire to compete at the highest level is what keeps me going. Idemooo.”

Following surgery, the medical experts as well as the tennis community predicted that his chances of playing at Wimbledon were slim to almost non-existent as it usually takes anywhere between three and six weeks to recover from that type of knee surgery.

With Wimbledon starting on July 1, he was all but ruled out of the grass-court Grand Slam, especially when the change of surface was taken into account as he was coming off an extended clay-court campaign.

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Even the doctor who performed the surgery, Antoana Geromete, suggested it would be “difficult” for Djokovic to be ready in three weeks.

“By gradually increasing the load, we will see if it remains ‘dry’ and without swelling or pain,” he told L’Equipe. “It will be progress from day to day, but it is impossible to predict the state in which it will be in a week, two and so on. But to be at 100% in three weeks, it really seems difficult to achieve.”

But you can never write Djokovic off as he is already back exercising as he has posted a new video on Instagram to detail his “progress”.

In the video he is seen cycling, using a knee curl machine on the same knee that was operated on, doing light jogging, balancing and various other activities in the gym.

That video is a clear sign that he is sticking to his vow to return to action as quickly as possible.

Djokovic had initially been tipped to skip Wimbledon in order to focus on the Olympics, but his team are yet to confirm his plans for the upcoming weeks.

Don’t be surprised if you see the 24-time Grand Slam winner’s name in the main draw for Wimbledon as even Geromete admitted that the former world No 1 “is a real force of nature”.