Juan Martin del Potro is unsure if he has played the last match of an injury-hit career after refracturing his kneecap during the Queen’s Club Championships, the Argentine said.
Del Potro’s injury curse struck again on Wednesday as the former US Open champion slipped during his victory over Denis Shapovalov and pulled out of the grass-court tournament.
The world No. 12 is to miss next month’s Wimbledon after scans revealed that he had fractured his right patella — the same injury that forced him out of the last four weeks of last year and restricted him to five tournaments this year.
“If that match was the last of one my career, I don’t know. During rehab I will be able to think clearly. I will know what my body is able to do,” the 30-year-old said on Instagram.
Since winning the 2009 US Open, del Potro has undergone three left wrist surgeries and another to his right wrist, but he fought back each time to return to the tour.
“After medical studies and talking to the doctors they said surgery was the best treatment,” he added. “I asked them for the best option health-wise, not just for tennis. They said surgery, no doubt about it.”
“I cannot say anything more than that. I don’t know what will happen next,” he said. “Hopefully I will have a good recovery. I hope my knee can heal properly.”
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