Rafael Nadal schedule: When will he be back following injury?
It’s hard not to feel for Rafael Nadal right now. The Spaniard had a horrendous time with injury in 2022 and that has just carried straight on into this season too.
His Australian Open hopes came to a crushing end in just the second round as he suffered a hip flexor problem against Mackenzie McDonald.
The good news is that it is not a serious problem, though. So, what is the latest on the injury and when can we expect to see Rafael Nadal back on a tennis court?
Rafael Nadal injury latest
“Good afternoon. I have carried out medical tests after the defeat yesterday,” Nadal revealed after his Australian open exit. “The MRI shows a grade 2 lesion in the iliopsoas of my left leg. Now it’s sports rest and anti-inflammatory physiotherapy. Normal recovery time six to eight weeks.”
The good news is that should everything go to plan, Nadal should be back in good time for the clay season. It is his strongest part of the year by far and he missed much of it last year due to a broken rib he suffered at Indian Wells.
“He will be resting the next days once back in Spain and will start with anti-inflammatory physiotherapy,” a spokesman for the Nadal camp explained. “The normal time estimated for a complete recuperation is between six and eight weeks.”
Nadal has since been working in the gym and has even been pictured practicing on clay at his academy, so the recover is going well.
He posted a full injury update on February 28, saying: “[I have] took my time off, started rehab, gym and physiotherapy as instructed by the doctors. Getting ready to come back the in the best conditions.
“I am sad that I won’t be able to compete at Indian Wells nor Miami. Very sad not to be there. I’ll miss all my US fans but I hope to see them later this year during the summer swing.”
When will Rafa Nadal be back from injury?
Nadal suffered the injury on 18 January, so Indian Wells was possible for him given it gave him seven weeks. It always looked unlikely, though.
It came as no surprise when he withdrew from the tournament, and the same goes for Miami too. The clay season has always been the only thing that has convinced Nadal to rush back from injury and that wasn’t going to change at this age.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner has always been incredibly cautious with his recovery from injury, and it’s hard to envisage that changing for the last couple of years of his career. After all, do any of the rest of us find we get faster at recovering the older we get?!
SO, with Nadal out of Indian Wells and Miami, we can confidently say that he will be back for the Monte-Carlo Masters on April 9.
That would be 11 weeks after sustaining his Australian Open injury, but he will be seeing it as a great opportunity to fully prepare for the clay season.
With Nadal being the creature of habit we all know him to be, we can probably be relatively certain of his upcoming schedule.
Projected Rafael Nadal schedule
April 9: Monte-Carlo Masters (ATP 1000)
April 17: Barcelona (ATP 500)
April 26: Madrid Open (ATP 1000)
May 10: Rome Masters (ATP 1000)
May 28: Roland Garros (Grand Slam)
July 3: Wimbledon (Grand Slam)
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