Spaniard David Ferrer has been forced to withdraw from Wimbledon due to an elbow injury.

The former French Open finalist misses his first major tournament since 2002 as a result of the blow, with Ferrer confirming on his official Twitter account he will not be competing at SW19 but he is hopeful he will not be sidelined for a significant amount of time.

British number four James Ward had been set to face the world number seven in the first round but he will instead now take on Italian lucky loser Luca Vanni.

Vanni is ranked as the world number 113 and is more comfortable on clay courts, although he did win two Wimbledon qualifiers in straight sets before defeat to Australian youngster Luke Saville.

Ferrer’s withdrawal also opens up the draw for compatriot Rafael Nadal as the pair could have met in the last 16, while Andy Murray would have been a potential quarter-final opponent.

Vanni and Ward are due to meet on Tuesday and the Briton is 1.53 to come out on top, with Vanni available at 2.40.

Murray is 3.50 to win Wimbledon outright as he goes for glory in the SW19 showpiece for a second time.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic is the current 2.25 favourite to win the title, Nadal is 21.00 and seven-time winner Federer is 7.50 as he bids for his first title at the All England Club since 2012.