Rafael Nadal has been sidelined for six to eight weeks due to a hip flexor injury he suffered during his second-round defeat at the Australian Open, ruling him out of next month's Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Nadal's Australian Open title defence ended on Wednesday as he slumped to a 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 defeat to Mackenzie McDonald at Melbourne Park.
The 36-year-old had an MRI scan on his left leg in Melbourne on Thursday, which revealed a Grade 2 injury in the main hip flexor.
"He will be resting the next days once back in Spain and will start with anti-inflammatory physiotherapy," Nadal's team said in a statement on Thursday.
"The normal time estimated for a complete recuperation is between six and eight weeks."
That timeline will almost certainly rule Nadal out of next month's Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The ATP section of the 2023 tennis championships runs from February 27 to March 5.
"The news of Rafa Nadal’s injury at the Australian Open is most unfortunate for him in his pursuit of a record 23rd Grand Slam title,” said Salah Tahlak, tournament director of the Dubai tournament, in a statement.
“We wish him all the best for a rapid return to full health and fitness, his wellbeing is the priority. We are in contact with Rafa’s team and will be monitoring the situation in the coming days and weeks.”
Nadal was this month named as part of a star-studded line-up in Dubai that also includes 21-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic.
Nadal, winner of a men's record 22 Grand Slams, arrived in Melbourne with only one win to his name since last year's US Open after rib, abdomen and foot injuries kept him off court for much of the second half of last season.
Wednesday's loss to McDonald was the Spaniard's earliest exit from a major in seven years and will lead to more questions about his fitness levels and long-term prospects after recurring injury problems.
"I can't come here and lie and say life is fantastic and that I'm staying positive. Not now, but tomorrow starts another day, now it's a tough moment, a tough day. You need to accept that, and keep going," Nadal had said after his latest injury.
"In the end, I can't complain about my life at all. In terms of sport and injuries and tough moments, that's another one. I can't say that I'm not destroyed mentally at this time because I would be lying."
Nadal said he had had the problem for "a couple of days" but did not know what the issue was.
"I don't know what's going on, if it's muscle, if it's joint," the deflated Spaniard told reporters.
"I have history in the hip that I had issues. I had to do treatments in the past, address a little. Was not this amount of problem. Now I feel I cannot move."
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPECS
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
