Rafael Nadal’s injury has been found to be a stress fracture of the rib which will sideline the Spanish tennis star for up-to six-weeks, his team has announced.
The 21-times Grand Slam champion complained of having breathing difficulties and chest issues during his loss to American Taylor Fritz in the final of the Indian Wells on Sunday.
Nadal visited his medical team in Barcelona for tests after arriving in Spain which revealed “a stress fracture of the third left costal arch”.
Nadal’s injury occurred during his three-set semi-final victory over teenage compatriot Carlos Alcaraz but the 35 year old still took to court for the final in which he went down to American Taylor Fritz for his first loss of the season after 20 consecutive wins.
The recovery period will rule him out of next month’s Monte Carlo Masters and put his participation in the ATP 1000 events in Madrid and Rome in doubt which are set to be played in May.
The clay-court king will be hoping to be back for French Open, the year’s second major at Roland Garros where he holds the record with 13 title wins.
The French Open is scheduled to start from May 22.
Nadal started the 2022 season with uncertainty looming over his career due to a foot problem that forced him to miss a chunk of the 2021 season including Wimbledon, the Olympics and the U.S. Open.
After suffering a bout of COVID-19 Nadal said he even considered retiring when the foot problem that has troubled him throughout his career resurfaced last year.
But the left-hander put his doubters wrong by winning three consecutive titles in 2022, including the Australian Open increasing his major haul to 21 and take sole ownership of the men’s record he had previously shared with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
