Defending Australian Open champion and No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal fell to Mackenzie McDonald in Tuesday’s second round after aggravating a left hip injury in the second set. He finished the game, but an MRI showed the Spanish star will need time to recover.
“Hello. I had medical tests after losing yesterday,” Nadal tweeted. “The MRI shows a grade 2 lesion in the iliopsoas muscle of my left leg. Now it’s time for sports rest and anti-inflammatory physiotherapy. Normal recovery time 6 to 8 weeks.”
The iliopsoas muscle is the main flexor of the hip joint. Nadal appeared to get hurt chasing a forehand as he led 3-4 in the second set. He was immediately checked by the coach and had to use a medical time-out. His wife was seen crying in the stands.
During the post-match press conference, Nadal said he entered the game with hip discomfort.
“It had been a few days like that, but nothing like today at this point,” he said on Tuesday. “I have a history in the hip, I had problems. I had to do treatments in the past and currently too, but this amount of problems, I feel like I can’t move.”
Nadal, who has won an all-time-record 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, said he was considering quitting but he hasn’t asked medical staff as he feels he knows his own body. He said he tried to play without increasing the damage, although he admitted it was a struggle as he couldn’t hit the backhand or run for the ball.
“I didn’t want to retire. Being the defending champion here, I didn’t want to leave the pitch with a retirement,” Nadal said. “Better like that in the end, I lost. Nothing to say, congratulate the opponent.”
He felt frustrated with the injuries but tried to keep a positive spirit saying there was not much left to do to “carry on”.
“I just can’t say that I’m not mentally destroyed right now because I’m going to lie. It’s hard for me,” Nadal said.
“I really hope it doesn’t put me off the pitch for a long time… It’s not just the recovery. It’s the whole amount of work you have to put in to get back to a decent level.”
