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Rafael Nadal Injury/Health Update Thread : Nadal confirmed for Viña del Mar

153K views 1K replies 248 participants last post by  Action Jackson 
#1 ·
Toni just gave an interview on Spanish radio. Said:

- Rafa's career is not in any danger. They are just being cautious.
- Rafa would like to play in Rio 2016 and hopes to compete there (again I suppose emphasising this is not some career ending injury). They all want to extend his career as much as possible and to do that they are taking the conservative approach -- "no more patches". (By this I think he is referring to earlier remarks he made about how this year they've just tried to manage injury in a piece meal way by taking time off in Miami etc. but that is not correct. He needs to wait till he is 100%.)
- It is not the same tendinitis as before, but is related to the same issue.
- Toni's been hearing that Nadal's career will be short all his life - but even if he retired now it would not have been a short career as he's played for a decade as a professional - since he was 16.

They also had some doctor on who said Nadal's tendon had degenerated and needed 3 months of rest. Given that he had most of June off, July and now August, maybe a DC return in September is not too far fetched...

Basically, as always, I think the "his career is over" brigade are going a bit far. If anything this sounds like he's learned from past mistakes and is following exactly what the doctors tell him to try and get the most from what remains of his career. Beating any of the other 3 - Andy, Roger, Nole - would have been tough at the US Open - let alone when not at full match fitness and without competitive play. If he was still suffering a bit, then better to be cautious - at this stage he needs to basically try and maximise slam chances.

As a reminder - think of the Nadal we saw at WTF 2011 - listless, passionless, bagelled by Federer. Next major tournament a few months later - few games away from winning the Australian Open. His body will always be an issue but the fire and motivation to me has been a bigger concern - at least that seems to still be there and perhaps be even stronger due to setbacks. Sounds like Rio 2016 might just be the think that keeps him going even if it seems farfetched right now that he'd be competitive in 4 years time. :lol:
 
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#1,140 ·
I think people are overreacting a bit. He's said he always plays in pain - clearly he won't be totally discomfort free. He played through pain much of the last clay season - had knee issues from IW onwards yet was still able to compete. So this doesn't mean he's not playing Chile or not coming back. Just that though he's a lot better than before he still doesn't know how the knee will do in matches and how long it will take him to get to top conditions.

Toni said he's playing at a good level - not his best but it is okay - he won some practice sets off Robredo in Barcelona last week. He doesn't know if he'll get to the right level by Acapulco, IW, MIami or even Monte Carlo - case of wait and see.

On another note - he's apparently signed up to play doubles with Nalbandian in Sao Paolo!!

Video of today's practice:

 
#1,143 ·
Asho Nadal played through pain last year BECAUSE of the knee fat pad issue. the whole point of his hugely long delayed coming back to tour was to work as a solution for his knee to heal and STOP hurting rather than can get surgery to remove the fat pad (surgery is quite unpredictable obviously)
can't say like for sure if the dude's going to feel pain still or not, but him and his team made it very clear that doctors indicated for the knee to stop being painful he needed to stop using it extremely for a while. it seems illogical that his knee would still be in pain after so long

however, I wouldn't be totally shocked if BAM in a few months the same problem arrises again
I totally agree it's a a wait and see sorta thing! like wait and see if those cupcakes are getting solid in the oven
that is crazy he's doing doubles with Nalbandian too! I think if anything that shows that he's confident the bodys back to norm and that he just needs to regain traction as far as remembering how to play on tour, the confidence, ETC
 
#1,145 ·
That is how Soderling beat Federer at FO in wet condition in 2010 QF. It was even worse than Novak and Nadal.I did not get why the match was not suspended so guys can play next day. The same happened to Murray and Berdych. It was good they suspended the final and played on next day
last year.
 
#1,149 ·
Rafa also playing useless doubles with Nalby in Sao Paulo? :speakles:

Here we go again. Rafa will be playing too much tennis at a stretch and as a result, there is a possibility that he will make himself injured again. And after that, the same old 'Tight-schedule' bulls#it issue will reappear. :eek:

Fcuking hell! When will this guy realize he has to make a good schedule which won't make him injured so often! He has the tendency of getting injured often because of his playing style and bad scheduling.

Seems like Rafa and Injury are for each other. :mad:
 
#1,178 ·
there's a correlation between Nadal's success and his injuries.

Nadal wouldn't have been as successful if he had a playing style that wouldn't get him injured.
It's not a karmic thing, it's gamestyle.

His injuries were predicted by everyone relevant since long time ago. The surprising thing is that Nadal lasted longer than expected, but the fall was inevitable.
 
#1,157 ·
:banghead: :bigcry: :bigcry:
 
#1,158 ·
I read one interview with top tennis coaches like 2-3 years a go and all of them said that Nadal body will not last long with his kind of so physical game type. Even Federer told that to him.

But we dont know what would be - only time will tell.

I wish Nadal all the best.
 
#1,161 · (Edited)
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