Roger Federer has arthroscopic knee surgery, will miss Roland Garros

The Match for Africa, the February exhibition event in which Roger Federer played Rafael Nadal in front of nearly 52,000 people and raised $3.5 million for his foundation, was the last time the Swiss will play tennis for a while.

On Thursday morning, the 38-year-old, 20-time Grand Slam champion announced that he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Wednesday, and as a result will miss tournaments in Dubai, Indian Wells, Bogota and Miami, along with the French Open.

From the Associated Press:

BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Roger Federer has had surgery on his right knee and will miss the French Open and several other tournaments.

Writing on his Facebook page Thursday, the 20-time Grand Slam champion said his knee “has been bothering me for a little while” so he "decided to have arthroscopic surgery in Switzerland yesterday (Wednesday).”

Doctors “are very confident of a full recovery," Federer said, before ending his post by telling his fans “see you on the grass!" as he targets a return for Wimbledon.

Federer will skip tournaments in Dubai, Indian Wells, Bogota and Miami prior to the French Open, which starts on May 24.

Federer could potentially return to play at one of his favorite tournaments in Halle, Germany, on June 15. He has was won the grass-court tournament 10 times.

Wimbledon starts June 29.

Federer lost to Nadal in the semifinals at Roland Garros last year and then beat the Spaniard in the semifinals at Wimbledon. He then lost to Novak Djokovic in the final after holding two match points.

Federer struggled with his fitness at times during the recent Australian Open, and was clearly hampered when he lost to Djokovic in straight sets in the semifinals after making a strong start.