Rafael Nadal provides injury update and suggests return date

The Spaniard has not featured since he returned from a year-long absence in Brisbane in January

Rafael Nadal has revealed that abdominal issues have resulted in his latest three-month setback from the tennis tour.

The 37-year-old, who previously stated that 2024 was likely to represent a “farewell tour” before retirement, has not played since his return from a year-long absence in Brisbane in January.

Prior to that, the 22-time Grand Slam champion missed nearly all of the 2023 season due to a hip injury, with Nadal undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his psoas muscle last June.

While he has been consistently training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca having pulled out from the Indian Wells-Miami double header in March, his latest withdrawal from the Monte-Carlo Masters this week has put his availability for the French Open at the end of May into serious doubt.

Yet in an interview with Spanish broadcaster Movistar, Nadal revealed he was not ruling out a return to his favourite clay court surface in Barcelona next week – or the Madrid Masters the week after.

“My body won’t let me [return],” Nadal said. “It’s getting difficult for me. It’s been a difficult year and a half, I’m trying every day.

“I have things to solve and the reality is at the moment, I’m not being able to put myself in a position to compete. It’s hard.

“On a personal level everything is good. On a professional level, it is difficult and you also have to weigh the bad moments and those you would never have imagined experiencing.

“I don’t rule out anything, not even being in Barcelona or Madrid, but at the moment I am not able to get there due to physical problems.”

Rafael Nadal played in an exhibition event last month but has not appeared on tour since January (Getty Images)

The revelation of an abdominal issue will be of concern to tennis fans desperate for Nadal to return. The Spaniard pulled out of the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2022 due to an abdominal tear, curtailing his pursuit of winning every Grand Slam in a single year.

Nadal added: “Many people have mental problems and I also have them when in my work I can’t manage to fight for my goals but no, it’s physical.

“I have [had] abdominal problems since I returned from Australia. We are trying things. We are going day by day.”

Nadal did play in the exhibition ‘Netflix Slam’ event against compatriot Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas last month before his latest series of tournament withdrawals.

The French Open at Roland Garros, a tournament Nadal has won a record 14 times, starts on 26 May.