Rafael Nadal played at Roland Garros largely due to numerous foot injections that numbed the feeling in it including the pain.
It was an incredible effort from Rafael Nadal to win his 22nd Grand Slam title, but it wouldn't be possible if he wouldn't use injections to numb his foot. He confirmed that several times following his Roland Garros triumph. During the post-match press conference, he said:
"I have been playing with injections on the nerves to numb the foot and that's why I was able to play during these two weeks. I have no feelings in my foot, because my doctor was able to put anaesthetic injections on the nerves. That takes out the feeling on my foot."
Asked about Wimbledon, Nadal said:
"I'm going to be in Wimbledon if my body is ready to be in Wimbledon. That's it. Wimbledon is not a tournament that I want to miss. I think nobody wants to miss Wimbledon. I love Wimbledon. If I am able to play with anti-inflammatories, yes; to play with anaesthetic injections, no. I don't want to put myself in that position again."
Nadal
said he would soon have radiofrequency ablation - which uses heat on
the nerve to quell long-term pain - but would have to consider surgery
if that treatment did not provide a sufficient solution. He explained:
"If that works, I am going to keep going. If that doesn't work, then it is going to be another story. Then I will have to ask myself if I am ready to do a major surgery that doesn't guarantee me to be able to be competitive again and could take a long time to be back."
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