Raonic retires due to injury « Milos Raonic

22Jun/11Off

Raonic retires due to injury

Milos Raonic was forced to retire from his match against Gilles Muller (LUX) at Wimbledon today due to an injury sustained after slipping on court.

After going up an early break and serving at 2-1 in the opening set, Raonic took a nasty spill on the grass and didn't bounce back up right away. This was actually the second time Raonic had fallen during the short-lived contest. This one looked like the kind of fall that could end a match, and judging by how long Raonic stayed on the ground that wasn't outside the realm of possibility. It took a few minutes for the trainer to come out and assess Milos before he even tried to stand up. Something appeared to be wrong as Raonic walked gingerly toward his chair. During the medical timeout Raonic appeared to take a pill, most likely a painkiller or anti-inflammatory. He also had his right thigh taped up before heading back on court.

All did not look well. Whenever Raonic didn't hit an ace or an unreturnable serve, he seemed to wince in pain as he chased down the ball. But Milos was able to get the hold despite the injury. It was obvious after Muller's next service game that Milos would not be able to continue. After just 24 minutes of play, Raonic retired at 3-2 in the first set.

Retiring was no doubt the right thing to do to prevent exacerbating the injury. I was surprised Milos was even able to play two games after hitting the ground, since those kinds of slips often result in serious hip/groin and knee injuries. This is the worst possible way to bow out of a tournament, and we all hope Raonic has a speedy recovery.

I'll update this post as more information becomes available.

UPDATE: From what I've been able to gather, Raonic has a hip injury for which he is receiving an MRI at a local hospital.

UPDATE AGAIN: Here is what Raonic has to say about his injury:

"I knew right away. I didn't think I could even lift my leg. It was a pretty sharp pain," Raonic said. "But as time passed, with the treatment, I was able to walk a bit."

Raonic, the 31st seed, saw the trainer again during the break and called it quits while leading the set 3-2. He spent just 23 minutes on court and went to a hospital for an MRI."I don't know anything," Raonic said. "It's too soon for a diagnosis on what it is. But it's something pretty deep in the hip.

"It's around both the inside and outside of the hip. A minor pull on the inside, but on the outside, it's [related to] the joint."

"I haven't had too many injuries, so I can't really tell, I don't know my body that well," Raonic added. "I'm really in the dark. "It could be just a minor bruising that could get better in a few days. Or it could be something more serious."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/moresports/story/2011/06/22/sp-raonic.html#ixzz1Q2qklVtc

-multi