World No.7 and Spanish tennis ace David Ferrer pulled out of Wimbledon with an elbow injury on Sunday.
The eighth seed was supposed to face Britain's James Ward in the first round, but now will be replaced by a lucky loser from the qualifying rounds.
Italy's Luca Vanni is set to take his place.
The 33-year-old's exit opens up the draw for Rafael Nadal, who could have faced his countryman in the fourth round.
But with Ferrer gone, Nadal could have an easy route to the last-eight where he could have a potential encounter against No.3 Andy Murray.
Wimbledon is scheduled to start from Monday, with defending men's champion Novak Djokovic opening play on Centre Court against Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber .
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