Rafael Nadal news: Spaniard’s comeback could be sooner than expected
Rafael Nadal could recover from his injury sooner than the 4-6-week timeframe originally proposed, according to his doctor Dr Angel Ruiz Cotorro.
Rafa Nadal may return from injury much sooner than expectedNadal injured his rib during his semi-final win against compatriot Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells last week and admitted struggling in the final against Taylor Fritz on Sunday.
He lost that game - his first defeat of 2022 following successes in the Australian Open and Mexico Open - and after the match, he admitted he was suffering from breathing difficulties.
On Monday, it was confirmed that the 21-time Grand Slam champion had sustained a stress fracture of his rib, with the prognosis being that he will be out for between four and six weeks.
Dr Cotorro confirmed that the 35-year-old had been diagnosed with "a stress crack in the third left costal arch" but said it was possible he would be back on court sooner than expected.
He told RadiogacetaRNE, "We’re going to adapt the work in function of the pain.
"For now, the priority is to remove the pain.
"Once the pain’s removed we’ll be working as much as we can. With this in mind and the evolution it has, we’ll see if we can shorten the time… although the 4-6 weeks is quite logical."
Nadal will almost certainly miss April’s Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open, but he could return on May 2 in the Madrid Open, where he will be playing in front of his home fans.
He will then build up to the French Open later in the month, a tournament he has won on 13 previous occasions.