John John Florence doesn't know if he'll be present for the Pipe Masters in December of this year, although he has not lost hope, he said in an interview conducted by the World Surf League last week.

“The scenario for competing at Pipe depends on my knee,” Florence told the WSL. “Without surgery, the timeline for rehab to get back to 100% is less certain. I’m not going to come back until I’m 100%. I’m not going to come back with a brace, at 80% and risk getting injured again.”

“At the CT you can't go back and think about competing if you're not in top form. Everyone is very good at this level,” he added.

A knee ligament injury has kept two-time world champion John John Florence out of competition since May. After losing in Bali, John John went freesurfing and this is what happened to him:

“John is like any other guy out here, when he has pent up energy from a frustrating loss, he's going to find a way to decompress. Johns style of decompressing is looking for big sections and sending it. I was holding my breath the minute he paddled out. I knew he was feeling jumpy. At one point I looked at him from the beach and gestured to take it easy! Haha. In my position it's sketchy watching him surf like that cause I want him to be ready for the next comp, but you can't tell someone like John to just surf safe. It's not in his nature......thankfully so.” @rosswilliamshawaii

A publication shared by John John Florence (@parallelsea) the 5 Jun 2018 has 2: 07 PDT

Initially, there was talk that he would have to undergo surgery, which would keep him off the tour until next year, but after careful evaluation it was found that it was a partial tear, so they decided to strengthen the leg and not operate. Now he says he feels fine, he walks but feels a little bad when doing surfing movements.

To pass the time, John John among other things placed second in the challenging Molokai2Oahu race.

As for who keeps him inspired to return to the Tour, he said: “Filipe (Toledo) is in great shape after his win at J-Bay, in terms of the race to the title. He is a good surfer. Even when I am healthy and on Tour, he inspires me. He surfs the way he wants in his heats and that is a very difficult thing to do.”