"When the situation doesn't work, you have to take decisions": Rafael Nadal's doctor shares update on his health
Jun 04, 2023
Barcelona [Spain], June 5 : Tennis ace and 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on Saturday after skipping this year's French Open, shared an update about his health on Sunday.
Dr. Angel Ruiz Cotorro, who was one of three doctors performing Nadal's surgery in Barcelona on Friday, along with Jaume Vilaro and Marc Philippon, shared the update on atptour.com.
These doctors are known for treating the likes of Gustavo Kuerten, Milos Raonic, and Lleyton Hewitt.
"We reached this situation for various reasons, we had a core issue -- injuring a muscle is not the same as a tendon. When we put it under large loads, the tendon was not responding because it was not strong enough," Angel Ruiz Cotorro said on atptour.com.
The 14-time French Open champion ruled out himself from this year's Grand Slam tournament two weeks ago, citing injury concerns.
"The decision to operate was made recently, we tried all the conservative options, which is how these injuries are normally treated. But Rafael Nadal's doctor shares update on his health," Dr. Cotorro added.
"I'm happy because we've done what we wanted to... We're very satisfied and if we respect the recovery times, I think he will be able to recover. Rushing is never a good idea. It's five months, but we're not pushing for a particular date," he added.
Nadal has only featured in four matches this year -- two for Spain in the inaugural United Cup and two at the Australian Open, where he lost in the second round to Mackenzie McDonald of the US.
"We have a high chance of success as all the remaining part of the tendon is healthy and will regenerate. But it needs time to regenerate and needs to be treated in a way that allows that to happen," Dr. Cotorro said.
"It's an operation that allows you to do some things, but not others. He will be in a period of limited rehabilitation for 10 days, then he will start to work in the pool and on the bike," he said, adding, "Exercise that affects the tendon must be eliminated. From there, there is a healing period, which is always determined by biology. The first six weeks will be the most important. From there, we'll do tests and see how to continue with the recovery."
