Rafael Nadal attended an event held by his foundation in Mallorca this Monday afternoon and, far from confirming the date of his return, after 70 days without competing, he cooled his return to the slopes. The 36-year-old tennis player from the Balearic Islands sustained a degree 2 iliopsoas injury in his left leg in the second-round match of the Australian Open and has been working on his recovery ever since. Last Thursday, the organization of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 announced its participation from April 9, but the tennis player leaves it on the air for now.
“I don’t know when I’ll play again, that’s the truth,” said the 22-time champion. “I don’t know where this information came from, but if it were true I would of course confirm it, but unfortunately I can’t. I continue on my way and still don’t know when I’ll come back, that’s the truth; I’m in a phase where I’m increasing my work and if I knew when I was going to return I would say so, but I don’t know,” emphasized the Spaniard, who gently resumed his activity a month ago and now continue with the adjustment. Pick up the pace, but always with your feet in the lead.
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“We have to go day by day and I will not anticipate anything that I cannot fulfill later. I’ll say things when I really know them,” he concluded during the awards ceremony, held at Es Baluard, Museu d’Art Contemporani de Palma, chaired by him, UNESCO Deputy Director-General for Social Sciences Gabriela Ramos and the Telefónica’s President, José María Álvarez-Pallete, attended the event, as did the parents and wife of the athlete, who is also the Foundation’s Board Member, as well as other personalities.
Nadal is enrolled in the Monte Carlo tournament and also in the Godó in Barcelona (from April 15th to 23rd); Then the appointments in Madrid (from May 26th to 7th) and Rome (from May 10th to 21st) appear on the calendar, with the final destination in Roland Garros. The great Frenchman, who starts on May 28th and ends on June 11th, is his main target and he will not bring about a maneuver that could jeopardize his presence in Paris, where he has won 14 times. As time has gone by – he turns 37 on June 3 – the tennis player has opted for a more conservative stance when it comes to returning from injury.
The latter, which impairs left leg motor skills, has kept him from playing in Doha, Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami, as well as attending an exhibition in Las Vegas scheduled for earlier this month. On March 16, Monegasque tournament director David Massey pointed out that “Rafa was the first player to sign up. He wants to play and gives himself every opportunity to do so. That is the will, but the muscles have the last word. Depending on what the sensations dictate, Nadal will reappear in the Principality or later. Today everything is hypothesis. There is no date.
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