How much will injuries from 2022 affect Rafael Nadal’s 2023? The foot problem suffered by the Spaniard partially conditioned the second part of his season, after a truly exceptional first part, which culminated with victory in two Grand Slams, the Australian Open and the US Open.
Surely the injuries will inevitably affect his 2023, which however remains ambitious and full of expectations. Rafa will be looking to get to the top of his fitness for the clay-season, to rewrite history again and, if health is on his side, he will also have ambitions for New York.
Rafael Nadal’s issue was precisely his left foot in the 2022 season. After playing just seven official tournaments in 2021, the Spaniard stopped for a long time due to this important injury, which forced him to a long recovery and not have the opportunity to play prestigious events.
Upon his return, the Spaniard dominated the competitions in which he took part, also winning the Australian Open for the second time in his career and the Roland Garros. His left foot stopped him, subjected several times to rather demanding medical treatments, such as infiltrations before each match.
How much will injuries from 2022 affect Rafael Nadal’s 2023?
At Wimbledon, the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles had to retire in the semifinals due to a physical problem and in the final part of the year he no longer had the right condition to compete at the highest levels.
Rafael Nadal has returned to talk about it after several weeks. In an interview with Marca, the Majorcan was asked about infiltrations: “The truth is that I did them many times after Wimbledon, because the injury is incurable and when the nerve starts to hurt you have to do it again.
I have to thank Mario, my regular anesthetist in Barcelona, and Dr. Ángel Ruiz-Cotorro, who put me in touch with David Abejón, a pain unit specialist, to start a treatment that changed me drastically my career but my personal life.
Now I’m much happier, other than winning or losing on the tennis court, because I was lame before. I played tennis on a lot of anti-inflammatories but was lame all day. I thought I had to give up tennis because I had lost my vitality and was a sad person most days.”
