March 22, (THEWILL) – Rafael Nadal, the Australian Open champion, will be out for four to six weeks after suffering a cracked rib in Sunday’s Indian Wells final loss to Taylor Fritz.
THEWILL recalls that during the match, Nadal was visibly struggling to breathe and later admitted that he was finding it “difficult” to continue. He needed to lie down to receive treatment at different points in the final.
During the competition, Nadal had been dealing with a pectoral ailment, but upon his return to Spain on Tuesday, he informed the media that he was “fine”, which was a huge relief to fans of the Spaniard ahead of his favoured clay court season.
However, after meeting with Doctor Angel Ruiz-Cotorro, it was discovered that he had a stress crack in his third left costal arch, which developed during the match.
His rehabilitation time will be four to six weeks, which will give him little time to prepare for the 2022 French Open, something he had been looking forward to with excellent performances before and after his record-setting Australian Open victory.
“This is not good news, and I did not expect this,” Nadal remarked. “I am devastated and sad because after the good start of the season that I have had, 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, I would like to thank everyone for their support.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
