Alexander Zverev spoke up from the sick bed. In his short video message, the Olympic champion who operated on Tuesday showed the hint of a smile again. “I look forward to returning again. I already miss tennis,” said the 25-year-old in English. When Germany’s best player wants to be back on the pitch after the serious foot injury in the semifinals of the French Open, he initially left open. The most important things at a glance:

The diagnosis: The examination in Germany found that all three lateral ligaments in the right ankle were torn, Zverev wrote in the message that was published on Instagram on Tuesday evening.

The native of Hamburg had himself checked out by the Davis Cup doctor Tim Kinateder in Munich on Monday to see whether the foot had suffered any further damage apart from the multiple torn ligaments that had already been found. The good news: An even worse injury was not found.

The operation: Torn ligaments in the ankle can, but do not have to, be operated on. “In order to return to the competition as quickly as possible, to ensure that all ligaments heal properly and to regain full stability in my ankle, surgery was the best choice,” Zverev explained the decision.

The future: It was already clear before the final diagnosis that a start at the lawn classic in Wimbledon from July 27th to 10th was impossible. However, Zverev should continue to aim for the following highlights of the tennis year: There are still more than eleven weeks until the start of the US Open as the last Grand Slam tournament in 2022 (August 29 to September 11).

Zverev’s big goal for this year was to win one of the four biggest tournaments and be number one in the world. In the coming week he climbs to second place for the first time in his career.

The US Open is followed by the Davis Cup intermediate round from September 14th to 18th – Zverev had campaigned for the German group to be played in Hamburg. “My rehab starts now and I will do whatever it takes to come back stronger than ever!” he wrote.

The reactions: Once again, the interest in the network was great. By midnight, Zverev’s message had been commented on more than 1,000 times, and the Instagram post collected more than 37,000 hearts. Ex-pro Tommy Haas wished him a “quick recovery”, “Get well soon, Alex”, wrote Thomas Müller after the German national soccer team’s 1-1 draw against England.