Rafa Nadal has announced he has a stress fracture in his rib and will miss the next 4-6 weeks, putting his chances of playing at the French Open at risk.
The Spanish star needed treatment during the Indian Wells final on Sunday and was clearly hampered in his straight-sets defeat to Taylor Fritz.
The loss was Nadal’s first of the year and snapped his 20-match winning streak.
On Tuesday, the 21-time grand slam champion took to Twitter to reveal the devastating news that he might be out until May.
“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,” he wrote.
“As it turns out, I have a stress crack in one of my ribs and will be out for four to six weeks.
“This is not good news and I did not expect this.
“I am down and sad because after the start of the season I have had such a good time.
