‘I’m devastated and sad’ – Rafael Nadal out for four to six weeks with serious rib injury
Rafael Nadal has revealed that he will be absent for the next four to six weeks after suffering a cracked rib at the Indian Wells Masters.
After struggling to breathe in his Indian Wells Masters final loss to Taylor Fritz, upon his return to Spain Nadal visited his medical team to complete tests and to assess the cause of the pain.
The results returned showed that 21-time Grand Slam great Nadal had suffered a stress fracture on one of his ribs and he will subsequently be out for four to six weeks.
Nadal suffered the injury in his semi-final encounter with compatriot and teenage Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz, meaning he battled through the final in considerable pain.
As a result of the injury, Nadal will now miss both of next month’s clay-court Masters events, the Monte Carlo and Madrid Masters.
However, should Nadal’s recovery go to plan he should still be able to compete at the French Open where he would be gunning for a record-extending 14th Roland Garros title.
This news comes a day after he broke back into the ATP’s top three for the first time since he sustained his foot injury back in August.
Nadal revealed the news through Twitter, in which he wrote: “Hello everyone, I wanted to announce that I have returned to Spain and I immediately went to visit my medical team to do the tests after the Indian Wells final that I played with discomfort.
“As it turns out, I have a stress crack in one of my ribs and will be out for 4-6 weeks. This is not good news and I did not expect this. I am devastated and sad because after the start of the season I have had such a good time.
“I reached a very important part of the year with very good feelings and good results. But hey, I’ve always had that fighting and overcoming spirit and what I will do is be patient and work hard after my recovery. Once again thank everyone for the support.”
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