Rafael Nadal has returned back to his home city after being pictured in crutches after undergoing treatment for a persistent foot injury.
Nadal was in the doctor's room shortly after winning his 22nd Grand Slam title at the weekend, in which he defeated first-time major finalist Casper Ruud. It was also a record-extending 14th French Open crown.
The Spaniard is known to suffer from Mueller-Weiss syndrome, a rare condition that causes chronic foot pain. Nadal's procedure, which involved radiofrequency treatment to numb the nerves, was done in Barcelona, and he was cleared to return home.
He is now in Mallorca recuperating and is not expected to hit the tennis court anytime soon. In fact, Nadal has reportedly withdrawn from Wimbledon, which means he won't be playing any warm-up events.
However, a close source has shared Nadal's schedule during his rehabilitation, which will involve ample recovery time before he begins physical training. It is also possible that he will undergo a second treatment.
"Rafa is already at home and will spend three or four days doing normal, maintaining, physical activity. Depending on the effect of the treatment, and as long as it's positive, he will later return to training on the court. We don't rule out a second treatment being carried out in the next week."
Nadal admitted at Roland Garros that he won't play any tournaments if he needs to take daily injections as he did for Roland Garros to put his foot pain to sleep.
In order to avoid doing that and keep playing, the legendary Spaniard opted for a novel treatment option that has shown promise for similar issues but was never used for this specific case. He underwent the first treatment in Barcelona and recently returned home to Mallorca, unable to walk without crutches.