Monfils 50-50 for Roland Garros or... surgery

[Steve F.]

Hey guys -
Just saw this in Le Parisien (in french) and thought I'd pass along the info.

Apparently he's suffering quite a bit, especially once he removes whatever support he's got on his left knee in order to play - and even then, playing is still painful. It's from a chronic inflammation he's been dealing with for years.

Anyway, the news is that he'll decide as late as possible whether he'll play - Friday or Saturday. If he chooses not to play... he'll have surgery immediately, which will take him out for the next 6 months, at least.

Here's the piece in French, for those interested :

Gaël Monfils : «Pour Roland-Garros, c'est du 50-50»

David Opoczynski et O.B. | 20.05.2009, 12h49 | Mise à jour : 22h57

A l'issue d'un match-exhibition contre Mickey à Disneyland-Paris, mercredi matin, Gaël Monfils a confié au «Parisien» - «Aujourd'hui-en-France» qu'il n'était pas encore certain de participer au tournoi de Roland-Garros, qui débute dimanche. Le Français, numéro 11 mondial, souffre en effet toujours d'une inflammation au genou gauche.

«C'est encore du 50-50, indique-t-il. Mon genou est toujours gonflé et quand j'enlève le strap j'ai super mal. Au bout d'un moment, je ne vais pas tenter le diable non plus. Un forfait est donc toujours possible.» S'il avait dû se prononcer ce mercredi, il aurait abandonné. Au bout du premier set... contre Marcos Baghdatis, son genou est devenu «très douloureux», a-t-il déclaré au «Parisien» - «Aujourd'hui-en-France» . S'il ne s'agissait pas d'un match-exhibition, il aurait arrêté...

Gaël Monfils devrait annoncer sa décision de participer ou non au tournoi de la Porte-d'Auteuil le plus **** possible, vendredi ou samedi. S'il s'engageait, il souhaiterait jouer la montre et n'être sur le court que mardi. Il a, d'ailleurs, déjà demandé aux organisateurs de programmer son éventuelle entrée le plus **** possible.

Dans le cas où il ne participreaut pas à Roland-Garros, Gaël Monfils subirait une opération qui compromettrait toute la suite de la saison : sa convalescence pourrait durer quelque six mois.

[veroniquem]

Even if he played RG in the end, he wouldn't stand much chance of doing anything there in his current situation.

[Gugafan]

RUEIL-MALMAISON, France, May 20 (Reuters) - Gael Monfils was on the verge of withdrawing from the French Open on Wednesday because of a knee injury, he said.
"If I had to decide today, the answer would be no," the world number 11, who reached the semi-finals at Roland-Garros last year, told a news conference after losing 6-4 6-0 to Marcos Baghdatis in an exhibition game.
"I clench my teeth but my knee is still hurting. I'll make my decision at the last minute. I have six days left as I have asked to play on Tuesday. I still believe a miracle will happen," he added.
According to French federation doctor Bernard Montalvan, the 22-year-old Monfils suffers from an inflammation of the kneecap which could require surgery and a long period of rehabilitation.




WTF 6 months out with Knee surgery!!!

Damn I didnt think the knee complication was that serious. He is still relatively young and could make a strong comeback. I think surgery would be his best bet to prevent the chronic knee problem.

This has certainly come as a big suprise to me. I thought Monfils was the one player that could have built on his claycourt run to the semis last yr.

[Serendipitous]

Poor guy. :(

Injuries are tennis players' worst nightmares, needless to say.

It's amazing what can happen to a perfectly healthy player in a matter of months.

I hope he recovers. :(

[CyBorg]

Just because you're super-skilled and ripped does not mean you'll make it.

[shadows]

man that sucks to a hideous degree D:

[nfor304]

Isn't it Osgood Schlatter syndrome that he has? Agassi apparently suffered the same problem through most of his career, though not badly enough to require surgery

[P_Agony]

Poor Monfils. He's got a lot of points to defend there...

[M J]

Thanks for the update. If my opinion mattered, I would suggest that he tries to play, then goes for the surgery. The FO is good tournament for him, and given the bad luck he has injuries, he'll probably being spend his entire career playing injured anyway. He should try to get some grand slam points from the early round matches, even if he has to retire in a later match.