Former top-10 player Nicolas Almagro will have surgery on his left knee on Monday according to Eurosport Spain.
Earlier this week the Spaniard was forced to retire during his second round clash against Juan Martin del Potro at the French Open. During the match, Almagro was seen collapsing on the floor in tears due to the pain in his knee. He was comforted on the court by del Potro, who went over to check if he was ok. Throughout the clay season Almagro has experienced issues with his knee and also withdrew from the Rome Masters in May.
The exact problem troubling the 31-year-old has been diagnosed as a rupture of the internal meniscus in his left knee. According to marca.com, he will undergo an Arthroscopy to correct the problem. A arthroscope is when doctors perform non-invasive surgery to examine and repair the damaged area.
There has been no official word from Almagro’s camp on the upcoming operation, however, it has been reported that the recovery could take two-to-three months. Therefore, it is likely that he will miss the entire grass court season, including Wimbledon. Almagro has never progressed beyond the third round at SW19.
The setback comes during what has been a challenging season for the Spaniard. Since January, Almagro has won nine out of 20 matches played. He has only been able to win back-to-back matches twice within a tournament. At the Doha open he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Andy Murray. More recently, he reached the same stage at the Estoril Open, where he was the defending champion, before succumbing to compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta.
Achieving a ranking best of ninth in 2011, Almagro has won a total of 13 ATP titles. All of those triumphs have occurred in clay court tournaments.
