Andrey Rublev can laugh about it now, but the tennis star was just hours away from losing a testicle.

Not long after his fourth round exit at this year’s US Open, Rublev felt pain in one of his testicles and went to hospital to be assessed.

But once he got there, the Russian tennis star was told he only had five hours of no blood flow to the region before it would need to be amputated.

The world No. 7 immediately underwent emergency surgery to ensure no amputation would be required.

Speaking ahead of his quarter final match against Stan Wawrinka at the Stockholm Open, Rublev sensationally revealed he even gave the green light to lose one of his testicles should it have been required.

“Now I feel perfect, everything went well,” Rublev said.

“I don’t know how to call it in a smart way but I can call it in a funny way. I almost lost my ball.

“I was super lucky because they say you have only five or six hours if the blood stops going there and then it’s amputation.

“I was lucky. I don’t know why I said, ‘Let’s go to hospital just to check why I feel a weird feeling.’

They checked straight away and they took me as an emergency to do the surgery and then they were able to do the surgery in three or four hours after the first feeling I felt. So they were able to do everything good and in the end everything is great.

“The last thing before they made me sleep, I signed the paper saying they were allowed to amputate my ball. That was the last thing before the surgery that I saw.”

After the successful surgery, doctors gave Rublev little chance of competing in a run of tournaments in Asia.

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The Russian was scheduled to play in the Hangzhou Open, the China Open and the Shanghai Masters.

Although he was forced to miss Hangzhou, Rublev remarkably recovered in time to take part in the latter two tournaments.

Unfortunately for the 26-year-old, he bowed out in the quarter final and round of 64 at the China Open and Shanghai Masters respectively.

Rublev began the Stockholm Open in dominant style as he beat French star Alexandre Muller 6-4, 6-1 in the round of 16.

The world No. 7 is seeking his third title this season having won the Hong Kong Tennis Open in January and the Madrid Masters in April.