Daniil Medvedev clay swing in doubt after hernia surgery announcement

WATCH: Medvedev was a win away from returning to world No. 1, only to bow out to defending champ Hubert Hurkacz.

Daniil Medvedev announced he would undergo a “small procedure” to address a hernia injury following his Miami Open quarterfinal defeat, one that will likely rule him out of most—if not all—of the clay court season.

“The last months I have been playing with a small hernia,” the world No. 2 revealed in a statement posted to social media. “I will likely be out for the next 1 - 2 months and will work hard to be back on court as soon as possible. Thanks for all the support.”

Currently ranked No. 2 on the ATP rankings, Medvedev briefly rose to No. 1 at the end of February only to lose the top spot after an early exit at the BNP Paribas Open. As the top seed in Miami, he came within one match of reclaiming No. 1 only to bow out to defending champion Hubert Hurkacz in a match that saw him struggle mightily with cramps.

“I was like sitting down, really tired, and then suddenly every muscle just went cramp, cramp, cramp, cramp,” the 26-year-old said after the match. “I was like a fish on the sofa.”

The battle for No. 1 between Medvedev and Novak Djokovic, who has played only one tournament thus far in 2022, was set to continue on clay this spring—though at a decided disadvantage to the former given his comically notorious struggles on the surface.

“Every time I play first tournaments on clay it's really tough on my body, because I feel like my game is not adapted to it, so I have to force my body, my shots,” he said last year in Rome. “My muscles to do something they are not used to. Physically and mentally in tennis it's very tough, so I need time to get used to, to adapt.”

Medvedev compiled 1-8 clay-court record between April 2019 and May 2021—including a six-match losing streak and two first-round losses at Roland Garros—only to turn things around in Paris and reach the quarterfinals, losing to eventual runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas.