Roger Federer news: Swiss Maestro will still be in ‘good shape’ at Roland Garros despite knee injury, missing Rotterdam and Dubai

Roger Federer will probably miss a significant amount of training sessions and tournaments as he recovers from a knee injury, but the Swiss Maestro could still be in “good shape” just in time for Roland Garros.

Federer’s official website has released a tentative schedule that would see the Swiss compete at the Indian Wells in California, but skip the entirety of the European clay court tour before competing at the French Open.

The huge gap between Federer’s first competitive match and playing at Roland Garros could mean less chances of him being in top form for the second Grand Slam event of the year. But according to ESPN tennis analyst Peter Bodo, Federer could still be in elite-mode when he hits the clay court in Paris.

“Trouble is, Federer has already decided to skip that [European clay court circuit in April] segment in its entirety until the grand finale at Roland Garros,” Bodo wrote. “…Yet Federer will probably be in surprisingly good shape even if he doesn't hit a ball in competition until Roland Garros.”

Despite his recent setback, Federer still posts a threat to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic’s mission of completing a calendar Grand Slam. English tennis legend Tim Henman said Federer, along with Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal, could still challenge Djokovic in one of the three remaining Grand Slam events of 2016.

"Roger was in the final of U.S. Open last year and he was in the final of the Wimbledon last year,” Henman told Reuters. “Djokovic stopped him in his quest to win more grand slams. They are still very, very close."

The 17-time Grand Slam winner successfully underwent an arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, which will likely put him on the shelf for six to eight weeks. In that time span, Federer will miss tournaments in Rotterdam and Dubai, and is tentatively set to return at the Indian Wells.