Alex Corretja has said that Rafael Nadal's injury is unexpected and hopes that he will return to full fitness. The King of Clay felt some discomfort in his chest during his Indian Wells semifinal against Carlos Alcaraz and even played the final despite having trouble breathing. After the tournament, it was revealed that he suffered a rib stress fracture that will rule him out for 4-6 weeks.

Corretja told Eurosport that it's a shame that Nadal's injury came at a time when he was in good form and the clay-court season was around the corner.

"This injury for Rafa was absolutely unexpected," Corretja said. "Honestly, he was in perfect form, with confidence, winning matches. It really was a perfect start for the season, but sometimes it can happen that when you haven't competed for a while you start to win many sets, many matches and that sometimes causes a new injury, as has been the case this time."

Corretja said that it was a shame the 35-year-old got injured at this time of the year and hoped that he would make a comeback soon because his presence is important on tour.

"The real shame is that the best part of the season was coming for him: the clay. Now he is going to have to recover, go back to training, and hopefully, he can play a tournament prior to Roland Garros because really the expectations, and the hopes that he will win again in Paris, are very high. Hopefully he will arrive in shape because I sincerely believe that it is very important that Nadal is on the circuit," he added.

"For now, the priority is to remove the pain"- Rafael Nadal's doctor

Rafael Nadal's doctor said about the Spaniard's recovery
Rafael Nadal's doctor said about the Spaniard's recovery

Rafael Nadal's doctor Dr. Angel Ruiz Cotorro said that the priority at present was to remove the pain.

"We're going to adapt the work in function of the pain," Dr. Cotorro said. "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 & the evolution it has, we'll see if we can shorten the time...4-6 weeks is quite logical."

🎾 Rafa Nadal sufre una fisura en las costillas. Charlamos con el Dr. Cotorro sobre esta lesión:🗣️"Vamos a ir adaptando el trabajo en función del dolor. Los plazos de 4 a 6 semanas son bastante lógicos."🔗 rtve.es/play/radio/ t.co/tetYqUPx6f

With his injury, Nadal will very likely miss the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open. It will be interesting to see if the Spaniard recovers in time to compete at the Madrid and Rome Masters before Roland Garros.


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