Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal talks during a press conference to announce he will not compete in the French Open, at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, on the Spanish Balearic Island of Mallorca, on May 18, 2023. The 22-time Grand Slam winner has battled to recover from a hip injury he sustained in January at the Australian Open, not playing since then. (Photo by JAIME REINA / AFP)
Rafael Nadal underwent an arthroscopic intervention on Friday to assess the hip injury which has kept him out of competition since the Australian Open in January with the result to be known on Saturday, the day of his 37th birthday.
Nadal said last month that the injury has not healed as well as he had hoped and therefore he was taking more time out of the sport.
The Spaniard missed the ongoing French Open, which he has won 14 times, for the first time since 2004.
He will also sit out Wimbledon, where he is a two-time champion, next month.
The 22-time Grand Slam title winner has said that 2024 will likely be his last year on tour.
Nadal had hoped the injury he suffered in a second round loss to Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open would heal in six weeks.
Nadal has not set a date for his return, but said the Davis Cup in November could be a potential target.
While he recovers, old rival Novak Djokovic has the chance to break out of the tie for 22 majors by winning a third French Open.
On Friday, Djokovic reached the last 16 in Paris for the 14th successive year and will face Juan Pablo Virallas, the 94th-ranked Peruvian, on Sunday for a place in the quarter-finals.