‘It will take a couple of more months’: Sania Mirza is still recuperating from knee injury

India tennis player Sania Mirza says it will take her at least two more months to get battle ready as he continues to recuperate from a knee injury. Mirza, winner of six Grand Slam titles, is out of action since October 2017 due to an injury in her right knee, forcing her to miss first Grand Slam of the season.

“It will take a couple of more months. I don’t want to get into technicalities of it but even if there was a surgery there is no guarantee that it is going to get better. It’s basically pain that I need to manage,” said Mirza. “It got out of hand so I had to take time off. I could not take pain killers anymore. It is getting better. It’s frustrating because you have to rest and do rehab.”

Missing the Australian Open

The 31-year-old said that it was difficult to watch the Australian Open and not feature in it. “Toughest thing is the mental part. Like it was difficult to watch Australian Open and not play. As an athlete when you are forced to do something, it’s difficult to accept. When you retire by choice, it’s different. But it’s not first time that I am injured. I have had three surgeries before. As an athlete, I am used to that. It’s mental more than the physical pain,” she said.

Mirza, whose ranking has dipped to 14, is confident that missing out on tennis for about four months won’t impact her adversely. “I turned Pro in 2003. It’s a very demanding life away from family and loved ones in a hotel room. I had a pretty long career. Do I think that these four months are going to make a difference in my career? No, in larger perspective. I have to take positives out of it,” she said.

To play in Asian Games?

Reflecting upon her 2017 season, during which she managed to win just one WTA title, compared to eight in 2016 and 10 in 2015, Mirza said, “As an athlete we are always greedy. When we win 10, we want to win the 11th (title)and whew we win one, we want to win three. When hunger is not there, you know it’s time to retire. I still finished in top-10, it was a decent year. 2017 was a solid year but it can get better.”

Talking about the upcoming Fed Cup, beginning on Wednesday, Mirza said that the Indian team has a tough task ahead. “I will retire one day, they should get use to it a little bit (laughs). It’s going to be tough matches as always. It will be a great experience for them, they are all young.”

Asked if she sees herself playing the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, she was non-committal.

“The first Asian Games I played was in 2002 when I was 15. It’s been really long, I would like to play another one if I can and win more medals. I have come back with medals every time I played. So it would be pretty amazing, but I can’t look that far ahead, want to focus on my recovery.”

-Inputs from PTI