Roger Federer provides update on his knee problem, says he's planning to make a comeback in "the middle or end of 2022"

Roger Federer revealed on Saturday that he is aiming to return to action in the "middle or end" of the 2022 season.

The 20-time Major winner has been on the sidelines ever since last year's Wimbledon Championships, where he lost in the quarterfinals to Hubert Hurkacz. The Swiss underwent a third surgery on his knee last August and has slowly been building his way back.

Speaking to Schweiz aktuell, a German tabloid, the 40-year-old insisted that surgery was "the right thing" to do as his knee was in bad shape after Wimbledon. The Swiss also said he hopes to increase the intensity of his training sessions over the next few months ahead of a potential return in the fall.

"I still have to wait a little bit with running. I hope I can increase that more and more over the next few months and hopefully make a comeback in the middle or end of 2022," Federer said.

"The surgery was the right thing. The knee was no longer good after Wimbledon. It couldn't go on like this. I'm fine. I walked on crutches for 2 months and had to start all over again," he added.

During the interaction, Federer revealed that he had received further assurances about his comeback after a positive MRI scan.

"I'm in the process of rebuilding the whole thing and can now slowly think about my comeback," he said.

Roger Federer presents awards to winners at the Super-G World Cup

On an unrelated note, Roger Federer was asked to give away awards to the winning skiers at the Super-G World Cup.

IFederica Brignone, who became the first Italian woman to win the overall World Cup title, was left overawed as the Swiss congratulated her on her achievement.

Switzerland's Wendy Holdener couldn't resist hugging the 20-time Major winner.

The Twitter handle of the Swiss skiing team also thanked the 40-year-old for his support during the event, posting a photo of the contestants with the 20-time Major winner.

"Special Guest in #Lenzerheide, Thank you for your support, @rogerfederer!" the Swiss Skiing team tweeted.