Rafael Nadal has confirmed that he will be sidelined from the Tour for up to eight weeks after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 tear in his left hip.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion crashed out of the Australian Open on Wednesday after losing to America’s MacKenzie McDonald. It was during the third set of their match that the Spaniard began to show visible discomfort with his hip and at one stage left the court for a medical timeout. He continued the match but was unable to find a way to avoid an upset in what is his earliest exit from a Grand Slam since 2016.
Taking to social media on Thursday, the former world No.1 issued an update concerning his injury. Tests have confirmed that the Spaniard suffered a moderate muscle tear in his hip but it will not require surgery.
“I have carried out medical tests after the defeat yesterday,” Nadal tweeted before adding he has been diagnosed with “a grade-two lesion in the iliacus psoas of the left leg”.
“Normal recovery time six to eight weeks,” he added.
The situation is a case of Deja vu for Nadal who found himself in a similar situation back in 2018. On that occasion, he was forced to retire in the fifth set of his quarter-final match at the Australian Open due to his hip. A scan later revealed that he sustained a tear to his inner right hip muscle.
Besides the physical setback, the 36-year-old admitted to reporters at Melbourne Park that his latest injury has left him ‘mentally destroyed.’
“[I] just can’t say that I am not destroyed mentally at this time, because I will be lying,” he said.
“Hopefully, it is nothing too bad. In the end [there] have been three positive weeks in terms of practice.”
Nevertheless, he says it is his love for the sport which drives him to continue playing on the Tour. in the current ATP top 100, Nadal is the second-oldest player after John Isner.
“It’s a very simple thing: I like what I do,” he said. “I like playing tennis. I know it’s not forever. I like to feel myself competitive. I like to fight for the things that I have been fighting for almost half of my life or even more.
It remains to be seen when the Spaniard will return to action. The next big tournaments are Indian Wells and Miami which are both Masters events taking place during March. Should he not play at those, he risks the possibility of exiting the top 10 for the first time since April 2005.
