Bernard Tomic will have surgery on his hip after retiring from his first round match against World No.1 Rafael Nadal at the 2014 Australian Open.
Tomic had scans the day after his first round match, which revealed a adductor longus tear in his groin, which would have sidelined him for one to three weeks.
However, further scans have revealed that Tomic has a condition called femoralacetabular impingement (FAI).
According to an article on the Herald Sun, FAI is a condition affecting the hip joint in young and middle-aged adults, hindering agility and movement.
Tomic’s doctor, Dr Martin Clark said the injury may have hindered him for over a decade.
“He would have had this for some years, at least 10 years. But it’s only become very obvious recently and brought to a head with injury,” Dr Clark said.
“He wasn’t aware that he had the condition (prior to the Australian Open).
“It is remarkable that he has had the success he has had considering this hip condition. The good news is that it can be fixed with surgery with most athletes returning with superior agility and speed.
“It’s a condition that a lot of people have.”
Dr Clark also said this condition placed significant limitations on his body in terms of speed and agility, and placed him at enormous risk of injury.
“Bernard’s injury is complex and resulted from a hip condition called femoralacetabular impingement, which has placed significant limitations on Bernard’s agility and speed and places him at constant risk of injury,” Dr Clark said.
“He requires the surgery in the coming weeks and will likely return to the ATP circuit in three months.
“Bernard was desperate to delay surgery until after Davis Cup but accepted strong medical advice that it shouldn’t be delayed.”
Tomic has been the target of strong criticism over the last couple of years, some of it seemingly fair, some of it seemingly unfair.
However, as a result of the news of Tomic’s long-standing condition, and expected layoff, he deserves an apology.
It is time that the people who have criticised Tomic for lacking effort, or not performing as well as expected to come out of their hiding holes, be it in Australia, or anywhere else across the world, tell Tomic that they are sorry.
Tomic is still the next big thing in tennis and this could be the catalyst for Tomic achieving what he wants to achieve.
The sky is the limit.
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