Draper has been hampered by the bone bruising in his left arm for more than a year, playing just 14 matches in the past 12 months and missing all three Grand Slam tournaments so far this year.
He has dropped to the cusp of the world’s top 150 as a result and will need to come through qualifying – or be given a wildcard – to play at the upcoming US Open, which starts on 30 August.
Bone bruising is essentially internal bleeding in the centre of the humerus bone, according to Prof Amar Rangan, vice-president of the British Orthopaedic Association.
The humerus is the long, tube-like bone between the shoulder and elbow joints, with the stronger outer layer – known as the cortical bone – protecting a spongier tissue called trabecular bone.
When the trabeculae break, the bleeding increases pressure inside the bone – causing bruising.
Tennis players are particularly liable to this injury because of the stresses imposed on the humerus by the rapid acceleration and deacceleration of their shots – particularly the serve.
Generally it tends to cause a dull, deep-seated pain, as well as limited mobility and inflammation for some people.
“How do you recover from this injury? A lot of patience – basically that is it,” Prof Rangan told BBC Sport.
“It is almost a race between the bone healing and further stresses.”
However, the notion of a player potentially needing surgery to fix the issue is emphatically rejected by Prof Rangan.
“The only thing can heal it is rest. The body has to heal and strengthen the bone,” he said.
“Surgery would be further injury to the area and would not help.
“As long as there is sufficient relative rest to allow the bone to heal and strengthen and consolidate it should settle down.”
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