Australia's No.3 men's player was keeping up a brave face on Friday as he admitted he would make a late decision on whether to compete in his opening-round match against Czech Vit Kopriva on Monday because he's suffering a back injury.
But as he revealed how he'd recently been keeping his spirits up by reading through the complete series of Harry Potter books while sitting injured in hotel rooms around the world, the 31-year-old battler smiled wryly: "If he could weave a little bit of magic, and just take away the back pain, that would be great ..."
The season after his career-best 2024 has been no laughing matter for the 31-year-old, as Thompson reflected: "Ruptured plantar fascia right foot - thought someone shot me - came back two months later, then a little groin tear, oblique tear, herniated disc, and now problems with the sacroiliac joint in the back. Good times..."
It's become so bad, with his recent retirement during Queen's suggesting the problem was only worsening, that he admitted on Friday: "I'll make a late decision over competing here. I'm going to practice today, see how it goes, hopefully it warms up, and then give my all and play on some pain meds on Monday.
"But If it wasn't Wimbledon, there's no way I'd play - I'd have been on QF1 back home."
What happens after Wimbledon is clearly preoccupying him, as he even ponders taking the rest of the year off from the brutal treadmill of the ATP Tour that left him slamming the crowded schedule as "shit" after his French Open exit in May.
Asked if he would consider taking six months out and get a protected ranking, the world No.45 said: "It's definitely not ruled out at this at this point, but hopefully that's not the case.
"But after Wimbledon, I'll have to have at least a month or two off. It could be on the cards, but hopefully not.
"If it's not improving - six months through the year and I've barely played any tennis - so maybe it's my body telling me that it might be the right way to go.
"Let's just see what the back does, and if it's okay to get going, otherwise I'll have to seriously consider coming back next season. I don't want to be playing in pain any more - it's getting too frustrating."
Still, Thompson will also be battling it out in the men's doubles, hoping to go one better than his agonising final loss when he and Max Purcell lost after holding three championship points in the final.
This year, he'll be playing alongside Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the French five-time grand slam winner who US Open doubles winner Thompson describes as "a better doubles player than me".
As for his new passion for going through the Harry Potter canon, Thompson explained: "I'm not a reader at all, but I've seen all the films and I thought it was about time I read the books.
"For sure, he's kept me going - from hotel to hotel room, and not hitting many tennis balls, I thought I'd have to turn the telly off at some point."
Asked who his favaourite character was, the famously hirsute 'Tommo' mused: "Jeez, early days ... Neville Longbottom? I'm a big fan of Dumbledore, so maybe a young Dumbledore, actually. He's very wise...
"Unfortunately, I'm not as smart as him, though..."
