After Cordoba withdrawal, Dominic Thiem estimates he's "90-95 percent of the way" back

FLASHBACK: Thiem joins TC Live team during 2021 US Open

Dominic Thiem says he is confident he come back "very soon" despite delaying his return to tour again because of another injury.

The former No. 3 from Austria has not played since last June when he injured his right wrist in Mallorca and was scheduled to return this week on clay in Cordoba before announcing his withdrawal.

"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," said Thiem in an online video posted by the Cordoba tournament. "I'm going to come back once I'm 100 percent fit."

During a press conference with Austrian journalists, Thiem, 28, confirmed that the recent injury was what had caused him to call off a practice a few days ago and added that it had delayed his comeback training.

"I haven't played any sets, or points, in training," said Thiem.

Thiem, who won the 2020 US Open, had already attempted to resume competing on hard courts during 2021 and again at the start of this season. He plans to proceed with Buenos Aires next week if fit enough and is also entered at Rio de Janeiro the following week. Should Thiem's timeline need to be further delayed, Indian Wells would be the next likely target.

"I'm now 90-95 percent of the way," he said. "It's going to be a few more weeks before I'm really competitive."

Thiem has seen his ranking drop to No. 37 as a result of his inactivity.