Roger Federer has pushed back his return to tennis by a month as he continues to recover from knee surgery.

The 17-time grand slam champion underwent an operation after tearing a meniscus on the day after his Australian Open semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic last month.

Federer had been expected to make his comeback at the Masters 1000 events in either Indian Wells or Miami next month but will instead return to action in Monte Carlo in April.

Above a video of him serving in practice, he wrote on his Facebook page: “As it is a long year, I don’t want to push it too hard and come back too soon.

“Thus, I will unfortunately not be able to make it back in time for the great event in Indian Wells but I do plan on playing in the desert next year.

“After consultation with my team, I have decided to enter the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.”

The 34-year-old assured fans his recuperation was going to plan.

He added: “The Rehab for my knee is going really well! I have now had a lot of great practices on the court and in the gym.”