Roger Federer: Swiss to return in Monte Carlo in April

Roger Federer had surgery in his native Switzerland to repair a torn meniscus

Roger Federer has delayed his comeback from knee surgery by a month.

The 34-year-old world number three had initially intended to return at Indian Wells in March, but will instead wait for the Monte Carlo Masters in April.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion sustained a torn meniscus in January, the day after his Australia Open semi-final defeat by Novak Djokovic.

"As it is a long year, I don't want to push it too hard and come back too soon," he said.

Federer, who won his most recent Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 2012, will now come back to coincide with the beginning of the clay-court season.

"The rehab for my knee is going really well. I have now had a lot of great practices on the court and in the gym," he wrote on his Facebook page.