Rafa Nadal has revealed he is still suffering from a foot injury that has seen him withdraw from Wimbledon and the US Open this year.
Nadal has only played one tournament since his semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic at the French Open, losing in Washington last month.
The former worked No.1 has been managing a foot injury since 2004, but it has recently worsened, requiring intense treatment.
Nadal, who is promoting am Amazon TV show on his academy in Mallorca. said he continues to experience pain but is determined to return.
“I’ve known better, but I’m fine,” he said.
“My foot still hurts a bit. It’s been a difficult time. My goal is to get better, knowing that at some point I’m going to have to face difficult and painful stages.
“But I have to go through them to put myself back in a position to fight for what I want. I am determined to make it happen.”
Nadal admitted that the older he has become, the harder it is to recover from injury.
“I’ve experienced some fantastic things in my career that I never could have dreamed of,” he said.
“I had a hard time with injuries too, but I always found a way to get up and move on. Over the years, you also have to be realistic: things get more complicated, the clock is ticking.”
He has still to make a decision on a return to the tour in Australia in January.
