Roger Federer to Undergo Surgery on Knee Injury; Will Miss 'Many Months'

Roger Federer will undergo knee surgery that will cost him "many months" of action, he announced in an Instagram video Sunday.

"I want to give myself a glimmer of hope to return to the tour in some shape or form," he said, via Arash Madani.

The issue will at least take him out of the 2021 U.S. Open, which is scheduled to begin on Aug. 30.

The 40-year-old last appeared at Wimbledon, reaching the quarterfinals before a loss to Hubert Hurkacz. Federer then withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics as well as hard-court tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati. 

"I haven't done anything for a long time because of my knee," he recently told Blick (via Yasmin Syed of the Express). "After Wimbledon, I had to let everything sink in first. This week I'll meet my doctors and my team, and then we'll see what happens next. At the moment, everything is still a little uncertain."

His future is now seemingly even more uncertain as he looks to recover from yet another surgery.

The veteran had two knee surgeries in 2020 and missed about a full year of action before making his return in March 2021. He has appeared in just five tournaments this year, producing a 9-4 record.

Despite the injuries, Federer is one of the best male tennis players of all time, having won 20 Grand Slam titles, including eight at Wimbledon.  

The Swiss player is currently tied with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal for the most major titles in men's history. His last Grand Slam victory came at the 2018 Australian Open.