Days after retiring in his second round match against Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia at the Miami Master, Rafael Nadal returns to practice on Monday in Barcelona, but this time he's sporting a bandage on his wrist.
The 29-year old Spaniard is back in practice preparing for the crucial European clay-court season. The decision to quit while trailing 0-3 in the deciding sets has caused concerns on the fitness of the 14-time Grand Slam winner.
Nadal camp cited fatigue as the primary reason why he retired from the match, a decision that was meet by boos and jeers from the crowd.
"Today I was suffering for my health. I didn't know what was going on. I was not sure I can finish the match that way so I had to stop," Nadal told reporter in the past-match press conference. ""It was tough to play. I felt tired, heavy, dizzy in some games in the first set. I felt in that set I could not play well. I tried to stay on the court and I started to play better."
However, it seems exhaustion isn't only the problem for Nadal because he was seen applying more bandage on his wrist.
Details on website UbiTennis.com
Rafa Nadal is already in Spain, more precisely in Barcelona. The Manacor phenomenon was spotted today in the Catalan capital with his left wrist bandaged completely , most likely due to an infection. In fact, the Spaniard has already brought this medication during the tournament in Miami - where was released prematurely against Dzumhur after retiring because of the heat and the consequent pressure problems and dehydration - but could not be seen because in that circumstance had worn a cuff just above the affected part."
The good news apparently is the injured wrist isn't the one that required surgery in 2014. Nevertheless, this injury might play a factor if it's not completely healed before the Monte Carlo Masters which starts on April 10.