Rafael Nadal shared some discouraging news one day after he was upset in the second round of the Australian Open by American Mackie McDonald on Wednesday.
On Twitter, the 22-time Grand Slam champion said that he would be sidelined 6-8 weeks with a Grade 2 injury in the iliopsoas of his left leg.
That timeline means the 36-year-old won’t be able to return to Dubai next month and is doubtful for the “Sunshine Swing” in Indian Wells and Miami in March, but should be OK by the time the clay court season rolls around. Nadal has won 14 of his 22 majors at Roland Garros, which begins May 28.
Over the past 12 months alone, he has been troubled by damaged rib cartilage ... and by chronic pain in his left foot that was dulled via nerve-numbing injections during his title run at the French Open ... and by a torn abdominal muscle that forced him to pull out of Wimbledon.
Nadal has missed 11 Grand Slam tournaments since his Wimbledon debut in 2003 and many other tournaments have ended with him losing his battle with his body. Now he will have to endure another recovery.
“I went through this process too many times in my career and I am ready to keep doing (it), I think,” Nadal said Wednesday after his earliest exit from a major in seven years, “but that’s not easy, without a doubt.”
Nadal is currently ranked No. 2 and has been ranked inside the Top 10 of the ATP rankings since he first entered the elite group on April 25, 2005. He opened 2022 with his best career start when he began 20-0, winning the Australian and French Opens, before falling to Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells final.
