Alexander Zverev's brutal Wimbledon blow after horror injury

World No.3 Alexander Zverev will reportedly miss Wimbledon and face up to eight weeks on the sideline after his horror ankle injury sustained in the semi-final of Roland Garros in his clash with Rafa Nadal.

The German went over on his ankle at the end of a close-fought two-set battle with eventual champion Nadal in Paris.

OUCH: Novak Djokovic's brutal Wimbledon fallout in Rafa Nadal triumph

AMAZING: Nadal and Ruud photo sends tennis world into frenzy

Tennis viewers watched on in horror as Zverev yelled in pain as Nadal rushed around the net to check on his opponent.

Zverev was quickly ushered from the court, before he returned on crutches to wave goodbye to the fans.

The Tokyo Olympic champion revealed he tore 'several' lateral ligaments in his right foot, with a recovery in time for Wimbledon in three weeks highly unlikely.

"I am now on my way back home," he wrote in a post on Instagram.

"Based on the first medical checks, it looks like I have torn several lateral ligaments in my right foot.

"I will be flying to Germany on Monday to make further examinations and to determine the best and quickest way for me to recover.

"I want to thank everyone all over the world for the kind messages that I have received since yesterday. Your support means a lot to me right now!"

Now, French publication L'Equipe has reported the German will miss up to 6-8 weeks due to the injury.

While this rules him out of Wimbledon, it will allow him a number of hard court tournaments before the US Open if he is able to return.

In a video message posted after the match, the German player said: "It looks like I have a very serious injury.

"A very difficult moment for me today on the court. Obviously a fantastic match until what happened, happened.

"I want to congratulate Rafa, obviously. It's an incredible achievement, a 14th final, and hopefully he can go all the way and make some more history."

Alexander Zverev to rise in World rankings

Following Nadal's victory at Roland Garros and defeating Djokovic in the quarter-final, the Serb will drop down to World No.3 with Russian Daniil Medvedev taking the No.1 spot.

This is despite Medvedev being unable to play Wimbledon due to the All England Club's ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes.

German Alexander Zverev will move up to World No.2.

However, with Zverev most likely missing Wimbledon, Djokovic could still be the No.1 seed for the grand slam in a few weeks.

Remarkably, not since 2003 has one of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic or Andy Murray not occupied either the World No.1 or 2 ranking.

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.