Rafael Nadal has suffered a stress fracture in his rib and will be out for up to six weeks, the Spaniard’s team said on Tuesday.
Nadal complained of a chest issue during his run to the final of the ATP 1000 event in Indian Wells, California, last week. Upon his arrival in Spain on Tuesday, Nadal visited his medical team in Barcelona for tests which revealed “a stress fracture of the third left costal arch”.
“This is not good news and I did not expect this,” Nadal said in a statement sent by his team. “I’m disappointed and sad because after a good start to the season I was coming to a very important part of the year with very good results.”
His doctor said that the 35-year-old will be out of action for “four to six weeks”, ruling him out of next month’s Monte Carlo Masters and putting doubts over his participation in the ATP 1000 events in Madrid and Rome.