Dominic Thiem tour comeback delayed after fresh injury setback

Dominic Thiem is set for a prolonged period on the side-lines after pain in his hand forced him to withdraw from the Cordoba Open.

2020 US Open champion Thiem has been absent from the ATP Tour since June after he sustained a wrist injury at the Mallorca Championships.

This absence saw him miss a number of prestigious tournaments, including Wimbledon and the US Open as well as missing out on the chance to represent Austria at the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The former World number three was scheduled to play at the Abu Dhabi Exhibition in the off-season but withdrew saying he “wasn’t yet ready to compete at the highest level.”

Thiem then looked set to make a return Down Under, however his injury woes have continued into this season as he was forced to withdraw from both the ATP Cup and the Australian Open.

He had planned to compete in the Cordoba Open in Argentina as his return event but he has now taken the decision to withdraw from the event after enduing pain between his knuckles. Thiem was the second seed, behind Diego Schwartzman as the top seeded player.

Regarding the injury setback, Thiem said “in the last [few] days, I suffered a minor injury between my knuckles, a little strain of my ligament.

“The positive thing is the wrist is perfectly fine, but I’m suffering pain in my hand and also lacking practice, so I have to pull out.

“I’m very sad, but I’m going to come back once I’m 100 per cent fit, and thank you so much for the great and warm welcome I had here in Cordoba.”

As a result of his injuries, Thiem has now been absent for a total of seven months.

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