"I'm not thinking about (Wimbledon) right now, I just want to rest well and to make sure that I get my health back to the best place possible"
Friday 30 June 2017 14:34, UK
Johanna Konta has suffered a scare before Wimbledon after being forced to withdraw from her semi-final at the Aegon International with a thoracic spine injury.
The world No 7 was in tears on Thursday evening after banging her head in a heavy fall at Eastbourne late in her win over top seed Angelique Kerber.
Speaking after the match, Konta said she had been given the all-clear to carry on in the tournament and was confident she would feel okay on Friday.
The best-case scenario is that the decision is precautionary, with potential title contender Konta due to play her opening match at Wimbledon on Monday against Su-wei Hseih.
But it will undoubtedly be a blow to the 26-year-old, whose family home is in Eastbourne.
Konta, the first British woman ranked in the world's top 10 at Wimbledon since 1984, said: "For the next 24 hours I am just looking to be resting at home.
"No books, no screens. Just to try to sleep, I didn't really sleep well last night, so I need to rest.
"I'm not thinking about (Wimbledon) right now, I just want to rest well and to make sure that I get my health back to the best place possible.
"I didn't sleep too well but that's normal after a fall. We left it as late as possible to see how things developed this morning, but just felt it wasn't quite right.
"I made the decision (to withdraw) based on the fact I'm still quite sore through my thoracic spine and I'm just basically looking to make sure I really can recover in the best way possible.
"Next week is Wimbledon but I made this decision based on looking after my health, regardless of what tournament is coming up.
"It's the upper back. It's through the upper spine basically. I can move my neck.
"We're not 100 per cent certain yet (about the recovery time required). Things will become clearer in the next 24 hours of how we manage things."
Konta had been due to face world No 3 Karolina Pliskova, while in the other semi-final Britain's Heather Watson was beaten 6-2 3-6 7-5 by sixth seed Caroline Wozniacki.
"It could have gone both ways," Wozniacki said after the match. "We had played twice before and they were close matches so I knew it would be difficult today. I got a little lucky. She is a good player, has a great volley, mixes it up and serves well on grass, so a lot of credit to her."
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