Breaking News: Rafael Nadal out till March due to injury
Tennis fans’ worst fears were confirmed today as World Number 1, Rafael “Rafa” Nadal has been sidelined due to an injury, till March 2011.
Returning to his home town after the Australian Open, Nadal went through a series of tests and MRIs under Doctor Angel Ruiz Cotorro. Results revealed that the World Number
1 is suffering from adductor longus rupture of the left leg. Nadal’s official website stated that the Spaniard has been forced to a ten days rest by his medical team to recover for a tear in his thigh muscle. An injury sustained in the Grand Slam Down Under,
it does much to explain the Spaniard’s unexpected departure from the event.
Although Rafa has been forced to rest for ten days, he is expected to be out of play for the next month and will return for the first round matches of the Davis Cup in March.
An official statement on his website stated, "Rafa will be undergoing physiotherapy and anti-inflammatory treatments, as well as specific stretches with doctors estimating
a recovery period of about 10 days starting from February 1. Rafa is not scheduled to play again until the Davis Cup in March."
Reigning at the top since June 2010, Nadal enjoyed his best season last year, though 2011 wasn’t as kind to the Spaniard as one would’ve hoped. Although he won the exhibition
event in 2010 Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi after defeating world number two, Roger Federer, his run since has been nothing short of disappointment.
Playing in the season opener at Doha, Nadal was plagued by a viral infection that weakened him and was a major factor in his defeat to Nikolay Davydenko in the semi-final
match. Resting for a week, Nadal came into the Australian Open as the top seed. Not only did Nadal wish to hold a second Australian Open title, but he also wanted to be the first man since Rod Laver to hold all four Grand Slams at one time, a feat dubbed by
the media as the “Rafa Slam”. Despite suffering from the after effects of the Doha illness and a suspected injury at that time, Nadal was able to make it to the quarterfinals. But it seemed, that was as much strain as he could take; pitted against compatriot
David Ferrer, Nadal was defeated in straight sets and with that ended his dreams for a “Rafa Slam”.
Although Rafa will be missing from tennis action for a while, fans must take comfort in the fact that a rested and healthy Nadal in March is better than a weakened and ill
one in February.
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