With Rafael Nadal just months away from making a return to tennis after being on the sidelines for the entirety of 2023 with a hip injury, the Spaniard painted a concerning image of his present life as he still recovers from the hip injury that denied him tennis action for eight months. Nadal has not played tennis since he incurred an injury during his shock second-round exit in Australian Open earlier this year which forced him to miss the remaining three Slams.
The 37-year-old has been hurt by psoas, hip and foot injuries over the past 12 months of his career. Nadal, who looked for a return in Roland Garros to defend his crown, later relinquished the opportunity owing as he underwent arthroscopic surgery in a bid to fix his recurring injuries.
And while Nadal stands little over three months away from making a return to the sport in 2024, which he had admitted would be his final professional year in tennis, he revealed that the pain from the injury does not allow him to lead a normal life, to the extent that he sometimes finds it difficult to even walk down the stairs.
“[The pain isn’t gone] but now it is controllable,” Nadal told Movistar+. “There are times when the foot does not let me live in peace, it is difficult for me to even go down the stairs, and that happens sometimes. If it hurts it is difficult to be happy, my character changes when it hurts more than necessary.”
Nadal even warned fans of not having too much expectations from his return to sport as he explained that it is difficult for a player to win another Grand Slam after making a return from hip injury.
“Yes, I would like to play again and be competitive again, but the dream is not to come back and win Roland Garros or win Australia, so that people don’t get confused, right?” he added. “I am very aware that at the time I am in my life, all that is very far away. And I don’t say it’s impossible because in the end I say things – I have said it a thousand times – all things in sport, they change very quickly.”
