The injury that forced Rafael Nadal to retire against Marin Cilic is not as serious as was feared, and the world No1 expects to be back competing within a month.
A scan on Nadal’s injured right hip on Wednesday confirmed that he had torn a muscle, but the injury is expected to heal quickly.
He will rest on his return to Spain, and after physiotherapy, hopes to resume practice within a fortnight.
Nadal is next due to compete in Acapulco at the end of February before heading to the back-to-back Masters Series tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami in March ahead of the the clay-court season. “Three weeks is the normal time to totally recover and he will resume his tennis schedule as planned,” the 31-year-old Spaniard’s spokesman said.
Despite yesterday’s quarter-final defeat, Nadal will remain at the top of the world rankings at the end of this tournament. Roger Federer, who is No2, arrived here knowing that he had to defend maximum ranking points after winning the title last year and faces a similar prospect in both Indian Wells and Miami.
Kei Nishikori needs more time to recover from wrist surgery after an attempt at a comeback in America.
The 28-year-old said: “I had expected it to be tough and it was. I’m not confident yet so I can’t hit aggressive shots.”
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