(Tennis news) Rafael Nadal is expected to be out of action for up to six weeks due to stress fracture of the rib, which means his involvement at the French Open is doubtful. The Spaniard experienced breathing difficulties during his defeat to Taylor Fritz in the finals of the Indian Wells on Sunday, having initially sought treatment after his semi-final match against Carlos Alcaraz. 

The 35 year old will most definitely miss the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open, tournaments that he has won on many occasions in his illustrious career and is also doubtful for the Madrid Open in May. The Spaniard will be hoping to regain fitness for the French Open in late May, a tournament that he has won 13 times in his career, four years in a row from 2017 to 2020 until he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals in 2021. 

Nadal is the most successful tennis player amongst the big three, winning 21 Grand Slam titles and was on a 20 game unbeaten streak until he lost to Fritz in California. The Spaniard had already decided to miss the Miami Open to prepare for the clay court season but his appearance will be delayed due to his ongoing injury. 

Announcing on twitter, Nadal said: "Hello everyone, I wanted to announce that I have returned to Spain and I immediately went to visit my medical team to do the tests after the Indian Wells final that I played with discomfort. As it turns out, I have a stress crack in one of my ribs and will be out for four to six weeks. This is not good news and I did not expect this.

"I am down and sad because after the start of the season I have had such a good time. I reached a very important part of the year with very good feelings and good results. But I've always had that fighting and overcoming spirit and what I will do is be patient and work hard after my recovery. Once again I thank everyone for the support."

After the match against Fritz at the Indian Wells, Nadal said “It's tough for me to breathe. When I try to breathe, it's painful and it's very uncomfortable. When I'm breathing, when I'm moving, it's like a needle all the time inside here. I get dizzy a little bit because it's painful. It's a kind of pain that limits me a lot. It's not only about pain, I don't feel very well because it affects my breathing."

Also read: Taylor Fritz wins Indian Wells title after defeating Rafael Nadal