Rafael Nadal suffers injury ‘setback’ in Paris Olympics blow

Rafael Nadal has faced a fresh injury setback just days ahead of the Paris Olympic Games, with his coach Carlos Moya admitting that he ‘can’t guarantee anything’.

Nadal is set to make his fourth and final appearance at the Olympic Games in Paris, scheduled to compete in both singles and doubles alongside compatriot Carlos Alcaraz.

Eight Olympic medals & 31 singles Grand Slams in one 📸#Paris2024 | #Olympics | #tennis pic.twitter.com/LNCTA3VE6l

— ITF (@ITFTennis) July 25, 2024

However, the two-time gold medallist appears to be in a race against time to be fit for the event after Nadal’s coach, Moya, suggested to Spanish radio that his player had been struggling.

“It has been a setback and we have decided that Rafa should rest today and not train to recover,” Moya told Onda Cero and Radio Nacional de Espana. “We are going to give ourselves 48 hours. I can’t say anything for sure. We have to wait.”

Moya continued, “He had some discomfort yesterday (Wednesday 24th July) morning. In the afternoon he was more limited and before it got worse he decided to stop. I can’t guarantee anything, neither that he won’t play or he will play. At the moment he needs to rest, undergo treatment.

“He is obviously very excited to play these Olympics. It has been something marked on his calendar for years. He is a born competitor and wants to play singles and doubles. He’s very excited about the doubles with Alcaraz. It will be the first time they have played together and it will be something historic for Spanish tennis.”

Let’s hope for the best 🙏#Paris2024| #Olympics | #tennis pic.twitter.com/KUPDBFeA1V

— ITF (@ITFTennis) July 26, 2024

It had been reported that Nadal has been struggling with pain in his right thigh, something that appeared to be confirmed today when the 38-year-old returned to the practice court today alongside Alcaraz with it bandaged.

Nadal and Alcaraz are set to begin their doubles campaign tomorrow, before the former is scheduled to compete in singles against Marton Fucsovics on Sunday.

Inside the baseline…

After seeing his draw yesterday, this is the last thing that Rafael Nadal needs with another injury concern. It is positive that he has returned to the practice court today, but there are rumours that Nadal may only be able to play doubles at what will be his final Olympic Games. With Nadal having so many difficult periods with injury in recent years, it seems likely that he will leave this decision until the last minute and not give anything to chance.

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