(Madrid) Rafael Nadal, who suffered a muscle injury to his left leg at the Australian Open, confirmed on Thursday that he will be out for six to eight weeks.
“I was today at the Teknon Tennis Clinic in Barcelona where I had exams,” the Spanish champion explained on Twitter.
“They confirmed the results from Melbourne and the recovery time is the same,” he added.
An MRI performed in Australia showed a second-degree lesion of the iliopsoas muscle in the left leg that did not require surgery, according to the 22-time Grand Slam player.
“New exams will be done in three weeks to see how (the injury) evolves,” added the Spaniard, who turns 37 in June.
Defending champion in Melbourne, he was injured on January 18 during his match of 2e round against American Mackenzie McDonald, winner 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
That healing delay means he could miss the ATP 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami and plummet in the world rankings.
Nadal is expected to focus on making his comeback at the start of the season on clay in mid-April, with the French Open in May in sight, where he will try to win his 15e title on Parisian ochre.