Every word of Rafael Nadal’s concerning injury statement as French Open defence at risk

Rafael Nadal issued a bleak update on his injury progress and has been forced to change his treatment with less than six weeks until the French Open begins.

Rafael Nadal issued a worrying statement on his injury recovery on Thursday as he pulled out of the Madrid Masters. The 36-year-old said he had started a new treatment for his ongoing psoas injury after exceeding his initial six-to-eight-week recovery period. There are now just 38 days until the French Open and Nadal is hoping to play some of the remaining clay events but admitted he has no timeframe for his new treatment.

Nadal issued a bleak update on social media following his ongoing attempts to return from an injury he picked up at the Australian Open. “Hello everyone. Haven’t communicated with you guys directly in a while. It’s been a rough few weeks and months,” his statement begins.

“As you know I suffered a major injury in Australia, in the Psoas. Initially it had to be a six to eight week recovery period and we’re on to number fourteen. The reality is that the situation is not what we had hoped for. All medical directions have been followed, but somehow evolution has not been what we were initially told and we find ourselves in a situation that is difficult.”

Nadal also said he had been under the impression that he would play a full clay schedule but explained: “The weeks are passing and I had the illusion of being able to play in tournaments that are the most important in my career such as Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Roma, Roland Garros and at the moment I missed Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Won’t be able to be in Madrid unfortunately.