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Del Potro faces lengthy absence


 

Originally published on: 04/05/10 17:34

Juan Martin del Potro is certain to miss Roland Garros and could be out of action for a good while beyond after undergoing surgery on his right wrist in the United States on Tuesday.

The US Open champion first suffered with tendinitis in his wrist as far back as October, and after contesting just four matches to date in 2010 – all at the Australian Open – he has continued to struggle with the problem.

Dr. Richard Berger, director of hand surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, carried out the operation on the world No.5 and del Potro is expected to remain in America for a few days before heading back to his home country.

In an open letter sent to the Argentinean press to explain his decision to undergo the operation, del Potro admitted that he had hoped to avoid going under the knife.

“I have tried all season to avoid surgery by trying different treatments but, evidently, the injury was more serious,” he said.

“When I arrived in the United States, Dr. Berger did tests when I was on court and did different studies to specifically locate the points where I felt pain. From there, he made the decision to operate,” continued del Potro.

“This is not a happy moment in my life,” added the Tandil native, “but I am used to battling through adversity and I have the strength to come through this.”

And the world No.5, who had already played 28 games on the ATP Tour at this point last year, is under no illusions about his projected absence from the court.

“The recovery time will be lengthy, but it depends on many factors that today I can’t assess because it’s too soon,” said the 21-year-old.

In the meantime, 21-year-old del Potro plans to keep fans updated on his progress and ‘explain each step of my recovery’, before aiming to return to the form that prompted many to consider him a leading contender for the game’s major prizes.

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.