Rafael Nadal could miss up to two months of tennis after the full extent of his Australian Open match injury was revealed on Thursday.
The top seed was defeated in the second round by American Makenzie Mcdonald, wth Nadal playing through the pain of a muscle tear in his left leg.
Spain’s El Pais reported that the 36-year-old could miss a large chunk of upcoming events starting with the ATP Doha and Dubai hardcourt tournaments in February.
The worst case scenario could force the 22-time Grand Slam winner from the Indian Wells Masters in March and might mean he would want to play the Miami Masters, which he traditionally skips to prepare for the European spring clay season.
Nadal also suffered a similar injury in 2018 in Melbourne which kept him away from the courts for only three weeks.
