During this year’s Australian Open, in which the 17-time Grand Slam winner reached the semi-finals, he revealed he had been suffering throughout with a bout of flu – an illness he carried over from his first event of the season in Brisbane.

And shortly after his last four defeat to eventual champion Novak Djokovic, the 34-year-old suffered a knee injury and was forced to undergo the knife for the first time in his career.

It meant he had to withdraw from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where he was defending champion as well as Rotterdam, before he revealed he would not be fit to play at Indian Wells.

Returning from surgery, the seven-time Wimbledon champion travelled to Miami but soon confirmed he could not partake in the tournament due to a stomach virus.

Federer then reached the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo, before revealing his latest setback.