Roger Federer said he will know by April or May whether he can return to action following a third knee surgery that forced him to miss the second half of last season.

The 40-year-old former world No. 1, who also underwent two knee operations in 2020, has not played since being knocked out of last year's Wimbledon quarterfinals.

"I think a very interesting and important next sort of months ahead of me," the 20-time Grand Slam champion told one of his sponsors, Credit Suisse, in an interview on Wednesday.

"Until now I wasn't really allowed to run yet and do the heavy workload with jumps ... so I hope that that's all going to start hopefully in a couple of weeks and then we'll see how the body will react to that."

Despite the uncertainty around his future, Federer said he still had the hunger to succeed.

"I think this question is better answered maybe by April- May but for now of course the drive is there, I'm really motivated to do my work when I'm allowed to do ... it's still good times even though it's a little bit slow."

Federer also praised his great rival Rafael Nadal, who moved past him and Novak Djokovic on the all-time Grand Slam list with a record 21st major win at the Australian Open.

"It was nice to see his emotions after such a hard-fought victory," Federer said of the 35-year-old Spaniard.

"Rafa told me that he hadn't been feeling well with his body -- now he's holding up the Australian Open trophy. He's a great example, a great role model."

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