France’s Gael Monfils has been sidelined from the tour after confirming that he has injured both his Patella (kneecap) and Achilles heel.
In a statement posted on his social media account, Monfils revealed that he has Chondropathy in his left Patella. Chondropathy is known as a disease that affects the cartilage around the bone. Throughout his career, knee injuries have troubled Monfils. In 2012 he didn’t play any tournaments between May-September due to an issue with the knee. Monfils has also sustained a tear in his left Achilles heel.
“The exams I did today have revealed a choreography of my left patella and a tear in my left Achilles heel.” Monfils said in a statement on Monday.
“I will start tomorrow a rehabilitation program and will do all it takes to recover as soon as possible.”
The world No.11 has withdrawn from this week’s Miami Open, which is the second Masters 1000 event of the season. Recently he reached the third round at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells before crashing out to Dominic Thiem.
It is unclear when Monfils will return to the tour. Approaching the clay swing of the tour, the Frenchman will be hoping to be fit in time for the Monte Carlo Masters, where he will have a lot of ranking points to defend. Last year he reached the final of the tournament before losing in three sets to Rafael Nadal.
So far in 2017, Monfils has achieved a 8-4 win-loss on the tour this season. His best result of the year so far was a quarter-final appearance at the Dubai Tennis Championships. He also reached the fourth round at the Australian Open.
“In all honesty, the start of the year has been a little disappointing and below my expectations.” He recently said about his season so far.
Last year injury brought a premature end to Monfils’ season. Qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals for the first time in his career, the 30-year-old was forced to pull out due to a rib injury. He was replaced in the tournament by David Goffin.
