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An ex-Liverpool doctor has shed light on Novak Djokovic’s hamstring injury which almost ruled him out of the Australian Open in the early stages. After recovering to take his 10th Australian Open title some fans accused the Serbian of having faked his injury during the early rounds.
However, former Liverpool doctor Peter Bruckner has shed light on the Serbian’s injury problems during the tournament’s opening week. Buckner spent two years with the Premier League club between 2010 and 2012 and is now a professor in Australia.
He believes that Djokovic may have suffered a myofascial rupture of his hamstring instead of a split rupture. He told Serbian website Alo: “We think it’s an injury that bothers you for 10 to 14 days and I guess that’s what Djokovic had. According to my calculations, from the injury to the first match at the Australian Open, exactly 10 days had passed.
“This is a man who does everything right – he knows when he eats, when he drinks, how he recovers. He did everything he could to be completely healthy. He wasn’t 100% in the first three matches. In the second week, the injury was almost healed.”
READ MORE: Novak Djokovic’s full injury diagnosis shared by Australian Open boss after ‘proof’ claims
In his build-up to the Australian Open, the new world No.1 cancelled a practice session on the eve of the tournament. After also ending a warm-up match with Daniil Medvedev early, concerns were raised if the Serbian would even compete in his opening round match. During the opening week Djokovic looking in some discomfort and sported strapping on his hamstring through the majority of the event.
Responding to claims that Djokovic had a ‘fake’ injury tournament director Craig Tiley confirmed that he had seen proof of the injury himself. He told SEN Sportsday: “Absolutely (I saw the scans), the doctors are going to tell you the truth.