Nadal suffers a rib injury: “I’m sunk”

Rafa Nadal will be forced to stop after his great start to the 2022 season after the discomfort he suffered in the semifinal against Carlos Alcaraz and during the Indian Wells final, which he ended up losing, against Taylor Fritz. The Balearic tennis player has undergone tests in Barcelona this Tuesday that have detected a crack in one of his ribs and that will force you to stop for at least a month to fully recover.

His personal physician, Dr. Ángel Ruiz-Cotorro, explained that Nadal presents “a stress crack of the left third rib arch that occurred in the semi-final match on Saturday at Indian Wells,” after undergoing an MRI and CT scan. “The estimated time for his return to sports activity is 4 to 6 weeks,” he ruled.

For his part, Rafael Nadalthrough a statement, could not hide his disappointment after a spectacular start to the campaign with a balance of 20-1, titles in Melbourne, the Australian Open and Acapulco and a final in the Californian Masters 1,000. “This is not good news and I did not expect this. I am devastated and sad because after the start of the season that I have had so good, 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 thank everyone for the support.”

Nadal, who had given up playing the Miami Masters 1,000 to concentrate on the clay court tour, He will surely miss the Montecarlo Masters 1,000 (April 10-17) and could very well reach the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, where he defends the title (April 18-24). According to his doctor’s deadlines, he could reappear at the Mutua Madrid Open (April 28-May 8) and continue at the Masters 1,000 in Rome (May 9-15). A setback that puts an end to Nadal’s great season to date, who will now have to focus on recovery to face the clay-court tour with Roland Garros (May 22 – June 5) as the climax as safely as possible. There he will aspire to his 22nd Grand Slam title with Novak Djokovic in the draw, since with the relaxation of the anti-pandemic measures in France he will be able to play even if he is not vaccinated.

The 21 ‘big’ champion came from a 2021 marked by problems. Between a back injury and aggravation of his chronic ailment in his left foot (Müller-Weiss syndrome) he had only been able to play seven tournaments, the lowest number of his career.