Alright, so, I am writing this partly because I feel a little foolish for my last two posts – I was gushing and raving about the possibility of Federer winning the US Open (I admit it! – I am THAT much of a fantasist), and then, literally a day later, he drops the reality bomb: he is out for probably almost a year – IF he ever returns at all.
OK, so, I was inspired to write another post, and, anyone who knows me and my adoration of this guy, knows that I am inspired by the belief in the possibility of his return. I was decidedly not optimistic about his return up until now. The more I think about it, and re-play his words, and the video of him showing his mood as he said them – the more I feel glum about the slim chances of his return. But I was just now watching a video online of highlights of his Cincinnati win in, I believe 2017?? The year that Feliciano Lopez famously said, post-match, “F**K! You are flying around the court.” Something about the way Federer was playing in that tournament just made me realize how much he loves playing, and how much he loves THE FANS. I am very sure that he has always wanted to extend this dream life of his for as long as possible (and it is in LARGE large part due to the fans’ adoration, which he appreciates [all players do] immensely) – and I do know, based on his own admission in his otherwise very glum announcement of his knee surgery, that the slight “glimmer of hope” in rreturning to the tour is going to be his motivation.
So, to cut this way short, I will just say that I believe that, IF the operation goes well, and the subsequent healing goes well, and the rehab afterwards goes well … we WILL see him back on court. That is a big “if,” but I do believe that it is a 50/50 shot, at worst. (Although I have very little knowledge of knee wear-and-tear, and of knee surgeries, admittedly). I did look it up, to see what kind of surgery he is to have, and it was impossible to find out definitively. (***This is also a very good sign! Fed fans. He is always secretive about his body’s health; and I have felt/realized that he always WILL be secretive about that, UNTIL THE DAY HE RETIRES). I think he will probably write a book, in the year or two following his retirement, and secrets will be divulged. So that is a very good sign, maybe the BEST sign, that he is not ready to retire. … Anyways, so, I looked it up, and one article I found – I believe it was a NY Times article, online, mentioned a discussion with a knee specialist of Philadelphia who admitted he does not know the TYPE of knee surgery Federer needs (he actually does not even know which knee it is), but he is thinking, based on Fed’s mention of the long long recovery time needed, that he may be getting micro-fracture surgery. You can look that up on wikipedia, as I did, but I gather that it is a method of forcing the bones – through micro-fractures – to create a membrane/capsule of blood clotting and scar tissue, etc. – that sort of thing – all for the purpose of re-growing connective tissue(?) in the area. I am paraphrasing; you will have to see the wikipedia page for “micro fracture surgery.”
I think that may be the surgery he is opting for. I don’t know, though. I figure that, if he were about to have another surgery like that which he just had, he would not be telling fans about how he will be on crutches for many weeks, and off the court for many months. Because that is not what his prior surgeries required. So I think it is a more serious type of surgery. Hopefully the recovery time needed correlates with re-strengthening of the knee.
I know for sure that he will get the best surgeon money can buy, and I pray to God that he does beautiful, Divine work on this surgery, and that it helps to strengthen Federer’s knee. Even if that only means he will be able to play tennis as a little hobby in his free-time, I hope that. But – let’s be honest – we would all love to see him return.
… now let me see about finding a great RF image online …
Thought of Today 