In Madrid to watch the first leg of the Real Madrid-Barcelona Copa del Rey semi-final on Thursday, Rafael Nadal told Spanish television that he doesn't know when he will return to tournament play.
He explained that at the Australian Open in January he suffered a "pretty major injury". "Unfortunately, it's going to take time. I am doing all the work I can every day to try and recover in the best possible way. Then we'll see; day by day. I'll be back when I'm well. We'll all have to have a little patience."
In Australia Nadal injured the iliopsoas in his left leg. This normally has a recovery period of between six and eight weeks. He announced earlier this week that he will not be playing the ATP events in Indian Wells and Miami.
The next Grand Slam event, the French Open, which Nadal has won fourteen times, starts on May 28.