An update on Grigor Dimitrov's injury has been provided after the tennis star was forced to withdraw from his match with Jannik Sinner in tears.
As he walked out on to centre court for a last-16 clash against world number one Sinner at Wimbledon, very few tennis fans expected Dimitrov to win.
However, the Bulgarian quickly proved doubters wrong, as he established a two-set lead in the match, beating the Italian star 6-3, 7-5.
But it all went wrong for the 34-year-old in the third set as, with the score sitting at 2-2, Dimitrov was forced to retire from the match after receiving medical attention both on court and backstage.
Advert
Initially, little was known about the injury or what it would mean for Dimitrov ahead of the US Open in August, but a new report has provided a huge update.
According to Bulgarian outlet TennisKafe, Dimitrov's manager has confirmed that the tennis star has suffered a partial tear of his pectoralis major muscle.
Following several examinations and consultations, it was established that the injury will rule him out of at least the next three tournaments that he had hoped to compete in.
Advert
This means that Dimitrov will not feature in the ATP 250 clay court event in Bostad (July 14-20), or the Masters tournaments in Toronto (July 27-August 7) and Cincinnati (August 7-18).
However, the good news is that it is currently expected that Dimitrov will be able to return to the court to compete in the last grand slam of the year, the US Open, when it gets underway in Queens, New York City, on August 24.
Speaking after Dimitrov was forced to retire, Sinner said: "I don't know what to say. He is an incredible player and we all saw this today.
Advert
"He has been so unlucky in the past couple of years. He is an incredible player who is a good friend of mine. We understand each other very well off the court.
"Seeing him in this position - if there was a chance for him to be in the next round he would deserve it. I hope he has a speedy recovery."
Ben McCrum