Daniil Medvedev did not expect to be having surgery the month before the French Open.
The 2021 U.S. Open Champion from Russia wrote on Twitter on Saturday that he has been suffering from a "small hernia" for the last few months.
"Hi everyone. The last months I have been playing with a small hernia. Together with my team I have decided to have a small procedure done to fix the problem," the post said. "I will likely be out for the next 1 - 2 months and will work hard to be back on court soon. Thanks for all the support."
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The revelation comes just two months after Medvedev claimed the No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings, breaking Novak Djokovic's record total of 362 weeks at the top. Djokovic regained his position three weeks later.
With the French Open starting on Sunday, May 22, it seems unlikely that Medvedev will be back on form in time for the second grand slam of the year.
Having an injury, however, doesn't seem like the only thing that is going to challenge the 26-year-old from competing in upcoming grand slams. Amid the Russia-Ukraine contention, England's Sports minister Nigel Huddleston declared that he wants all athletes from Russia and Belarus to prove they are "genuinely neutral" by signing an agreement before competing in UK events.
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Huddleston said, “We wish to get the assurance of that in a written declaration that they are not receiving money from [Vladimir] Putin, Russia or Belarus. That they will not be making supportive comments of Putin, Russia or Belarus."
“If people are saying they are neutral athletes, we want the assurance that they are genuinely neutral and therefore there isn’t any connection with Putin. If some individual sports or entities choose to do an outright ban of Russian or Belarusian athletes, then we will support that as well," Huddleston added.
Additionally, on March 22, Rafael Nadal announced on Twitter that he has a stress fracture in one of his ribs and will be out for 4-6 weeks.
And while Medvedev and Nadal are unsure of their French Open fate, Djokovic was given the green light to compete at the French Open despite being unvaccinated.
"As things stand, nothing stands in the way of Djokovic taking part in the French Open," tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said at a news conference on March 16.
The French Open runs from March 22 to June 5 in Paris, France.
