Milos Raonic took an anesthesia injection in his left foot prior to his fourth-round match against Roger Federer at the Australian Open. The Canadian lost in straight sets.
“I wasn’t even sure I’d play,” Raonic said. “I rushed over to get a quick MRI on my foot. I was having issues walking. I got the clear to play after that.”
The 14th-ranked Raonic said that the anesthesia did its job, as his foot only hurt on some awkward steps. But the injection did affect him mentally before he got on court.
“It was more how much it weighs on you mentally throughout the day when somebody is saying there might be a stress fracture, four to six weeks out,” he said. “You hear these things. You think about it non-stop. I took a nap during the day. It wasn’t a good quality nap. I was able to actually clear it out of my mind pretty well before the match and just sort of go along with everything and just play as well as I could.”
Raonic, who is scheduled to lead Canada’s Davis Cup team against Spain a week from Friday in Vancouver, said it turned out to be inflammation in the joints and that he should be good to go for the tie.