Novak Djokovic is set to MISS Wimbledon after undergoing knee surgery - with a comeback at next month's Olympics firmly in focus

Novak Djokovic is set to miss Wimbledon and aim his comeback towards the Olympics after having meniscus surgery in Paris on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old withdrew from Roland Garros on Tuesday with a knee injury and made the quick decision to have an operation. The surgery is understood to have gone well and indications are the meniscus damage was not severe.

Wimbledon begins on July 1 and the best-case scenario for Djokovic’s recovery time is three weeks. That would theoretically give him a chance of playing the Championships, but once time is factored in for recovering his match fitness and adjusting to the grass — a surface that puts a high degree of strain on the knees — it looks impossible, even for a man with his extraordinary powers of physical recovery.

Djokovic will instead target the Olympics, which begin on July 27 back here at Roland Garros. A gold medal is the only thing missing from his collection and the Paris Games have always been Djokovic’s biggest goal this year. 

This is only the second surgery of the Serb’s career. A devout believer in natural healing, he claimed to have cried with guilt for days after having an elbow operation in 2018.

Novak Djokovic is set to miss Wimbledon after undergoing knee surgery on Wednesday

The veteran underwent meniscus surgery in Paris after picking up the issue at the French Open

Despite finishing his game against Francisco Cerundolo, he was forced to pull out of the tournament

It took Djokovic two years of pain and indecision to bring himself to fix that elbow — the fact he went under the knife less than 48 hours after this knee injury indicates how eager he is to be fit for the Olympics.

With Roger Federer retired and Rafael Nadal almost certain to skip Wimbledon — again, with an eye on the Olympics — this will be the first Championships since 1998 to take place with none of the Big Three in the draw.

If Djokovic can make a full recovery, there is no reason why he cannot play on for several years. But there is recent evidence that Carlos Alcaraz and, particularly, new world No 1 Jannik Sinner have the beating of the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

Those two, who meet in a much-anticipated semi-final here in Paris on Friday, are only going to get better. It feels the game is finally leaving the greatest generation in history behind.