Alexander Zverev ‘likely out for months’ with new injury on eve of Davis Cup
Alexander Zverev will not participate in the Davis Cup Group Stage as planned after picking up a new injury in preparing for competition in Hamburg.
The world number five aimed to lead Team Germany in his first play back since tearing ankle ligaments in his Roland Garros semi-final against Rafael Nadal in June.
However, Zverev will have to continue his wait to return to competition and his nation will have to take on the rest of Group C without him.
“Unfortunately I will not be part of this team this week,” Zverev told reporters from a press conference in Hamburg. “I have a new issue, a bone edema that causes me quite a lot of pain. I don’t know if it happened yesterday or not but yesterday in practice with Oscar [Otte] it got to a point where I couldn’t run or walk anymore.”
A bone edema is a build-up of fluid in the bone marrow, causing pain for the sufferer. While fans hope the 25-year-old will only have his comeback delayed slightly, Zverev himself gave a bleaker assessment.
“It’s not a question of days. It’s probably going to be a question of weeks, most likely even months,” he admitted. “It was obviously a massive goal for me to play here because it’s my home town, I know the stadium very well.
“I had my first big success here back in 2014. So of course I’m disappointed. But at the end of the day, to be honest there’s nothing I can do about it.”
At the 2014 Hamburg Open, a 17-year-old Zverev made it to the semi-finals with a wildcard entry while ranked 285th in the world, before losing to top seed David Ferrer.
Team Germany face Team France first in their Davis Cup Group, while Australia and Belgium complete Group C.
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