It is highly unlikely that Alexander Zverev will be playing at this year’s Wimbledon Championships after he gave an initial medical update on the heartbreaking injury he suffered at the French Open on Friday.
The world No.3 was taking on Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals and was on the verge of taking the Spaniard into a second tiebreaker in the match before disaster struck. Zverev rolled his ankle and was instantly screaming in pain. Prompting there to be immediate medical assistance. He briefly left the court for treatment before returning a couple minutes later to officially retire with his right foot bandaged.
In an Instagram video posted on the same day as his injury, the German described it as ‘very serious.’ Now in a new post published on social media, he has revealed details about an initial medical assessment he has received which points to multiple ligament tears.
“Based on the first medical checks, it looks like I have torn several lateral ligaments in my right foot,” Zverev wrote on Instagram. “I will be flying to Germany on Monday to make further examinations and to determine the best and quickest way for me to recover.’
“I want to thank everyone all over the world for the kind messages that I have received since yesterday.”
According to the British National Health Service, it takes an average of six weeks for ligaments to heal. However, it is unknown as to how long Zverev’s recovery time will be as the exact extent of his injury hasn’t been fully established.
Zverev’s brother Mischa said a piece of the tennis player’s life has been temporarily taken away but insists that it isn’t a major problem when compared to other events going on around the world.
“You can’t compare that with anything,” Mischa told Eurosport Germany’s matchball.
“When you are injured like Sascha is now, a piece of your life is taken away from you for a certain time because you can’t walk, you can’t be on the tennis court.
“But there are much worse situations, much more serious problems in the world today. Losing in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament is the smallest problem. It’s not even a luxury problem, it’s pure luxury.”
This year’s French Open is the fifth Grand Slam where Zverev has reached at least the semi-final stage.
