Stress fracture of the left third costal arch. Rafa Nadal is dealing with yet another injury in his career: the first signs in the semifinal of Indian Wells, then the evident pain, proudly contained and hidden as much as possible in the last act of the tournament against the American Fritz . The hasty return to Spain for the necessary examinations and diagnosis.
The defeat on the American hard court, for the former world number one, is nothing compared to the new period of forced stop that awaits him. At least six weeks, according to what he leaks from his team. Which means skipping the next Miami Master 1000 (which Nadal would not have played anyway) and above all putting the clay season at risk. That is to say the surface of which Nadal is still the undisputed king.
Prestigious tournaments such as that of Monte Carlo, scheduled for April 10 (practically impossible for the Spaniard to be present) and to follow Barcelona (that is to say, Nadal house which even has a field dedicated to him in the tournament), Madrid, Rome and the Master by Rolland Garros. For the 21-time Grand Slam winner, a really hard but unfortunately inevitable blow: his body, worn out by years of battles, has been creaking for some time now.