Roger Federer says "worst is behind me," aiming for comeback from knee surgery next season

WATCH: Federer Through The Ages

Roger Federer says that his rehab from a third right knee surgery has been successful so far, and he is still aiming for a comeback next season.

"The worst is behind me, I'm looking forward to all that is coming up," he said, speaking in Zurich during a sponsor event for Mercedes-Benz.

The 40-year-old underwent a third procedure on his right knee following Wimbledon, having already had surgery twice in the first half of 2020 and another procedure on his left knee in 2016.

Federer indicated he is not yet back in training, saying he "wants to get back to conditioning and the court as soon as possible" and has to take it "step by step," but also sounded eager about the "challenge" of coming back.

"When you come back from an injury, every day is a better day. An exciting time," he said. "It's not a problem mentally."

The 20-time Grand Slam champion has been keeping an eye on the game during his layoff, saying it was nice to have Rod Laver watching Novak Djokovic's bid to complete the Grand Slam from the stands at the US Open, even though the Serb was defeated by Daniil Medvedev.

"But what Novak did this year was of course truly exceptional," he said.

He is also on the sidelines for Laver Cup event this week, the first time he hasn't played the event since starting it three years ago. That "hurts a lot," said Federer, but he would like to play when it takes place next season in London.

"It's one of my goals that I really get back into it in order to come back and play there," he said.

Federer last triumph came at his home event at Basel in 2019.