Paris, June 6, 2022 (AFP) -Rafael Nadal won a 14th French Open with daily pain-killing injections in his troublesome left foot and will now attempt to find a permanent cure for the injury, warning his record-breaking career is on the line.Nadal, 36, routed Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in Sunday's final at Roland Garros to extend his Grand Slam title record to 22, with victory coming 17 years to the day since he claimed his first French Open as a 19-year-old in 2005.The oldest winner in Paris, he had not been certain of taking part after a chronic left foot injury, which has plagued him throughout his career, flared up again.In the aftermath of Sunday's victory, Nadal revealed he and his medical team are facing a potentially make-or-break week."It's obvious that with circumstances that I am playing, I can't and I don't want to keep going.
I'm going to keep working to try to find a solution and an improvement for what's happening in the foot," said Nadal.Nadal said that taking anaesthetic injections in the nerves in his foot was the only way he could have got through the French Open.Now his medical team will attempt to burn the nerves using a technique which he described as "radio frequency injections"."If it works, I keep going.
If not, it will be another story and I will ask myself if I am ready to do a major surgery which may not guarantee I will be competitive and may take a long time to be back."With Wimbledon just three weeks away, Nadal is facing a race against time.He was champion at the All England Club in 2008 and 2010.
Should he win the title again, he would be three-quarters of the way to a first men's calendar Grand Slam since 1969."I love Wimbledon.