Radek Stepanek has confirmed that he will miss three months of the tour after recently undergoing surgery on his back.
The world No.99 wrote on his Facebook account they he has undergone a lumbar vertebrae procedure to treat a ‘chronic’ problem troubling his back. The Czech hasn’t played a match since the Australian Open, where he reached the second round as a qualifier before losing to Belgium’s David Goffin. Recently he withdrew from the Czech Republic’s Davis Cup tie against Australia due to ‘back issues.’
“I want to prolong my career and that’s why I decided to sacrifice three months now so that I can then play without pain,” the world No.99 explained.
According to sport.cz, Stepanek flew to America with the intention of playing at both Indian Wells and Miami before being sidelined by his ongoing problem. Whilst in America, he decided to ‘radically solve the problem’ by being operated on by Dr Jiří Chrobok.
Back issues have troubled Stepanek in recent years. In 2014, he was forced to end his season early due to his back in what could have been a career-ending problem. Instead, the 38-year-old staged a successful return to the tour.
A veteran of the tour, Stepanek is the oldest player in the world’s top 100. At this year’s Australian Open he became the oldest man to come through the qualifying draw since 42-year-old Mal Anderson at the 1977 tournament (which was held in December that year). In January Stepanek also reached the quarterfinals at the Doha Open.
