A wrist injury forced 20th seed Mikhail Youzhny to pull out of the Australian Open before his third-round match against Lukasz Kubot on Saturday.
The Russian said he has been struggling with tendinitis in his right wrist since his marathon five-set match with Richard Gasquet in the opening round on Tuesday night.
Youzhny was unable to practice yesterday and after meeting with a doctor this morning he decided not to risk further long-term damage.
"I cannot play backhand at all. I can play a little bit of forehand, but there is still a little bit of pain," the 27-year-old said.
"I understand there is no chance to play well here. If I continue to play here I could miss a lot of time.
"I asked the doctors if it was possible to maybe take tablets. He said it was possible, but also maybe in future it would make it much worse."
Youzhny said he did not know how long he would remain on the sidelines.
Kubot's free pass mean he will play the winner of the match between third seed Novak Djokovic and Denis Istomin in the last 16 - the first time the 27-year-old Pole has gone that deep in a grand slam.
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