After returning from the operating room, Alexander Zverev held his thumb up in bed and was already thinking about his comeback.
"We'll see how long it lasts.
I already miss tennis, ”said the Hamburger in a short video on Instagram after he received the feared diagnosis from the doctors and then underwent an operation.
During his bitter French Open in Paris, the Olympic champion tore all three outer ligaments in his right ankle, so Wimbledon participation is practically impossible - and a lot of patience is required.
“We all have our own journey in life.
That's part of mine.
Next week I'll be number 2 in the world, but this morning I had to have an operation," Zverev shared with his 1.8 million followers.
Surgery was "the best choice" to "return to competition as soon as possible to ensure all ligaments heal properly and to regain full stability in my ankle," Zverev wrote in his post.
The 25-year-old did not make any predictions about possible downtime, but the classic lawn game in Wimbledon begins on June 27th, in just under three weeks.
It looks pretty bad.
In the semi-finals of the French Open on Friday, Zverev twisted his ankle against the later tournament winner Rafael Nadal from Spain and had to give up after 3:13 hours of play when the score was 6: 7 (8:10), 6: 6.
Zverev later returned to Court Philippe Chatrier on crutches to say goodbye.
It will be a while before he makes a comeback on the tennis court.
After the first diagnosis, it had already looked as if several lateral ligaments in the foot had been torn.
According to Zverev, another examination in Germany now revealed that "all three lateral ligaments in my right ankle" were affected.
"My rehab starts now and I will do whatever it takes to come back stronger than ever!"
The surgery "hopefully went well," said Zverev and smiled at the camera.
It remains to be seen when there will be good news for the German number one after the recent lows.
There is enough time at least until the US Open (from August 29th).