King of Clay in ‘difficult situation’

Rafa Nadal will miss next week's Madrid Open after a setback in his recovery from a hip injury sustained at the Australian Open in January, the 22-times major champion said on Thursday.

Nadal skipped tournaments at Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo as well as the current Barcelona Open after suffering the injury that effectively ended his Melbourne Park title defence as he fell to a second-round defeat by Mackenzie McDonald.

"Initially it had to be a six to eight week recovery period and we are now on fourteen. "The reality is that the situation is not what we would have expected, " Nadal said in a video published on his social media accounts.

While the Spaniard, also known as King of Clay, a 14-times French Open champion who has dominated the clay court season for years, still hopes to be fully fit for the Grand Slam starting in May, his statement is not optimistic.

"The injury still hasn't healed and I can't work out what I need to compete," Nadal said.