Rafael Nadal Out for Six Weeks Due to Rib Fracture Ahead of French Open in May

“This is not good news and I did not expect this. I'm devastated and sad because it comes after a great start to the season,” Rafael Nadal shared on social media Tuesday

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Published on March 22, 2022 03:55 PM

Rafael Nadal will be sidelined with a rib fracture for six weeks as the French Open quickly approaches.

The tennis player, 35, revealed the injury on Twitter on Tuesday in a series of messages written in Spanish and loosely translated.

"Hello everyone, I wanted to announce that I have returned to Spain," he wrote. "And I immediately went to visit my medical team to do the tests after the Indian Wells final that I played with discomfort."

He added, "As it turns out, I have a stress crack in one of my ribs and will be out for four to six weeks. This is not good news and I did not expect this. I'm devastated and sad because it comes after a great start to the season."

Nadal explained the injury comes at "a very important part of the season" with the French Open in May.

"I've always had this fighting spirit and what I'll do is be patient and work hard after recovering," he wrote.

He received medical attention during his semifinal win over Carlos Alcaraz Garfia and experienced pain and breathing issues during his loss to Taylor Fritz during the final on Sunday at Indian Wells, according to Yahoo! Sports.

Nadal had previously announced that he would not play in the Miami Open which started on Monday, ESPN reported.

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The 21-time Grand Slam winner is now expected to also miss the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open. He may also need to skip the Madrid Open next month depending on his recovery.

Nadal will attempt to win a 14th French Open title after losing to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of last year's tournament.

In January, he won a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. He also won another title at Acapulco in February and extended his winning streak to 20 matches before his defeat in the Indian Wells final.