Novak Djokovic suspicions raised as top doctor makes feelings clear on Wimbledon chances

A top doctor thinks Novak Djokovic can recover in time to play at Wimbledon and the Olympic Games - and suspects his injury may not have required surgery. The Serbian's hopes of competing at SW19 and the games in France are hanging by a thread, after his nasty knee injury at the French Open.

Djokovic, 37, had to pull out of his quarter-final clash against Casper Ruud after exacerbating his knee problems during his five-set marathon against Argentinian ace Francisco Cerundolo.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner is now facing a race against time to compete in Wimbledon, which begins on July 1. However, Dr Goran Rodic believes Djokovic has every opportunity to recover in time to compete in both competitions.

"An arthroscopy was performed. It belongs to small, weak surgical methods," the doctor said to Sportal. "The body is entered through two holes with a camera and surgical instruments, and then the doctor sees everything in the knee that is wrong.

"We were told that of everything in the knee, and there is a lot of it, only the inner meniscus was damaged. In relation to the troubles that the knee can bring, it belongs to mild injuries and prognostically is the best possible condition.

"The good news is that in 90 per cent of cases it does not require surgical intervention. Maybe Novak's injury did not require surgical intervention, however, we who are involved in the examination of athletes suggest that if it is a battle against time, it should be solved surgically because then the rehabilitation is somewhat faster. That works in favor of Novak."

Djokovic was then sent a reassuring message, with the doctor going on to say that there have been cases similar to his in the past which have fully healed in just 19 days. Wimbledon begins in 24 days' time, meaning there is a decent chance he could be fit in time to play the tournament.

"I assume that Wimbledon is in his head, I hope so. There are examples, you have Nemanja Gudelj from Sevilla who had a similar situation and he was absent for only 19 days," Rodic said.

Djokovic did not waste any time in tackling the torn meniscus he suffered. He underwent surgery in France soon after he was forced to exit Roland Garros.

Considering the speed at which he decided to go under the knife, Rodic believes the Serbian will be fit in time for the two tournaments. "France is famous for orthopaedics," Rodic added.

"I have no doubt at all that Novak, as the best athlete in the world, was in the hands of the best doctors."

Djokovic has won seven Wimbledon titles over the course of his career. But the biggest honour he is currently missing is an Olympic gold medal.

The closest he came was in the Tokyo Games, where he lost to Pablo Carreno Busta in the bronze medal match. He also lost at the same stage to Juan Martin Del Potro at the 2012 games in London.