Juan Martin del Potro has returned to Buenos Aires after undergoing wrist surgery on Monday, and is now waiting to see when he will be able to return to playing tennis.
The surgery showed that the ligament damage had been worse than anticipated. "The doctor had the chance to take a better look at the injury and he saw the ligaments were broken, so it was the best thing to do," del Potro told ESPN Deportes.
After experiencing problems in the wrist for two years, the Argentine opted for surgery after retiring in Dubai and being unable to play singles at Indian Wells or Miami.
"You want to keep going and not lose your ranking, so I tried to play with more slice, but after a couple of practices in Miami I decided it was enough," he said.
The world No. 8 may be out for the rest of the season.
"It will take me a lot of months to recover," he said. "In 15 days I have to be checked by the doctor again to see how everything is going and only then will we have a better idea of how long it will take to be back.''
But after having a similar surgery on his right wrist in 2010, the 2009 U.S. Open champion is familiar with the road back.
"If I'm healthy, I know I can be back at a top level. Next year will be different because I won't be a Top 10 player anymore," he said.