Bethanie Mattek-Sands dislocated her kneecap and ruptured patella tendon in horror Wimbledon injury

The American provided an injury update during a tearful Facebook Live video

The American faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines (Getty)

The American tennis player Bethanie Mattek-Sands has announced that she dislocated her kneecap and ruptured a tendon in her horror fall at Wimbledon on Thursday.

The 32-year-old, who was playing in the second-round of the ladies’ singles against Sorana Cirstea when she suffered her fall, will now travel to New York to undergo surgery on her knee.

Mattek-Sands has been receiving treatment at the Parkside Hospital in Wimbledon, which is located a short distance away from the All England Club, but will return to the United States this weekend.

“I'm going to be heading to New York City tomorrow to see some more doctors to see what's really going on with my knee,” she said during a Facebook Live video to update her fans on the severity of the injury.

Mattek-Sands, who was speaking through tears during the live video, added: “I dislocated my patella out on the court, that's what the pain was coming from, and I ruptured my patellar tendon and I'm going to be needing surgery. So I will be out for a while.

“It's obviously been kind of an emotional and painful rollercoaster, the last couple of days.”

The American, who is an accomplished doubles player and was hoping to complete a career grand slam in the ladies’ doubles at this year’s Championships, said that she is yet to watch a replay of her fall.

“I know you've seen the video of the replay and I, for obvious reasons, have not looked at it. I hate watching sports injuries, let alone myself,” she said.

“But I was in the middle of my match and playing that last point I was coming to the net, and all I remember is hearing this pop in my leg. Everything was slow after that, it was just this loud pop.”

Mattek-Sands was heard screaming out “help me” as she lay stricken on the turf following her injury, and was immediately assisted by her opponent, who looked visibly taken aback when she saw the state of the American’s knee.

“Her knee was in a very weird position,” Cirstea said.

“I’ve never seen anything like this, except in the movies. And, yeah, I panicked a little bit as well. I called for help, but no one was coming. Then I tried to comfort her as much as I could, but you could feel the pain.”