Roger Federer won't be playing tennis on the professional stage again this year. The star announced on Wednesday that due to an injury "setback" he'll be out until the start of the 2021 season. Federer, 38, is recovering from a knee injury and underwent an arthroscopic procedure recently.

"A few weeks ago, having experienced a setback during my initial rehabilitation, I had to have an additional arthroscopic procedure on my right knee," Federer wrote in a statement on Twitter. "Now, much like I did leading up to the 2017 season, I plan to take the necessary time to be 100% ready to play at my highest level. I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but, I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season."

Federer originally revealed that he had knee surgery in late February and would miss Dubai, Indian Wells, Bogota, Miami and the French Open. That was before the coronavirus pandemic swept through the world and put all major sports on hold. Since then, the French Open was postponed until September and Wimbledon was canceled for the first time since World War II.

"My right knee has been bothering me for a little while," Federer wrote back in February. "I hoped it would go away, but after an examination, and discussion with my team, I decided to have arthroscopic surgery in Switzerland yesterday [Wednesday]. After the procedure, the doctors confirmed that it was the right thing to have done and are very confident of a full recovery."

Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, has had knee issues throughout his career. He underwent surgery for a torn meniscus back in 2016 and missed the Dubai and Indian Wells Open that season before ultimately returning for the Miami Open.

He came back to win the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2017. Federer's most recent Grand Slam came in 2018 when he defeated Marin Čilić to win the Australian Open.