"Will not give up" - Juan Martin del Potro before fourth knee operation
It is not getting any better: Juan Martin del Potro has announced that he will have to undergo another knee operation.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Mar 23, 2021, 12:53 pm
Will we see Juan Martin del Potro on a tennis court again? Nobody knows - but the Argentine is still fighting for his comeback. Even if he has to go under the knife again, again because of his knee.
"I am currently in Chicago with Dr. Jorge Chahla, and the news is that I will have another operation on my knee tomorrow," wrote del Potro on Instagram Monday evening.
Del Potro: "The pain is still there"
Delpo broke his right kneecap in autumn 2018, and then again in summer 2019 . This was followed by three operations - all without the desired improvement, even if the US Open champ from 2009 was spotted on the training ground from time to time. "We tried conservative therapy, but the pain is still there," he wrote about the current status. His doctor knew that he wanted to play tennis again and take part in the Olympic Games, "so we agreed, that the operation should take place as soon as possible. "
The last few weeks have not been easy for him, continues del Potro. "After the death of my father everything is so difficult. But I also feel the strength that he sends me from above." There was the day he woke up in the morning and called the doctor. "I knew I had to keep trying."
He hopes that he will get over the painful situation, "I will not give up", he promised and thanked his fans for the many messages.
Delpo wants to step back on the tennis court
Del Potro has struggled with injury problems for most of his career, particularly in his wrists. After various operations, especially on his left wrist, after his last comeback to silver at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016, he made it to the final of the US Open again in 2018.
Del Potro said in November 2020 that he had already exceeded his limit of resignation several times, and that it had already been reached with the third wrist operation, then with the second and third knee operations. "Fortunately, I didn't do it," he said of a possible retirement. He wanted to step back on the tennis court, even if he had to continue to lie to himself.