Rafael Nadal injury theory shared by Sue Barker that hints he'll definitely play Wimbledon

BBC tennis presenter Sue Barker is confident Rafael Nadal will play at Wimbledon later this month despite his injury problems - because he's flying over to England on Monday. Barker was discussing Nadal's season so far with John Lloyd and Andrew Castle on the BBC's coverage of the Queen's Club Championships final between Matteo Berrettini and Filip Krajinovic.

The Spaniard confirmed in a press conference this week that his "intention" is to play Wimbledon. He said: "My plan is to do a week of training and play some exhibition. I'm happy - on a day-to-day basis I have less pain. We have to wait and see how everything evolves in the coming weeks."

Nadal has been having radiofrequency treatment to numb the nerves in his foot having suffered from a chronic problem in the past few years. The 36-year-old played through the pain to claim his 14th French Open earlier this month with a straight-sets defeat of Casper Ruud.

But with some fears Nadal may have to pull out of Wimbledon, Barker - who won the French Open herself as a player in 1976 and has long been the face of the BBC's tennis coverage - is confident the 22-time Grand Slam champion will be in action at SW19.

Barker, who will retire as a presenter after Wimbledon after 30 years' service, said: "I hope he [Nadal] will [play]. And I think he will. I think the fact he's travelling here, he must be feeling OK. He's such a great talent. This foot injury, we didn't realise he'd been playing in pain for so many years!"

After watching a highlights reel of Nadal, Barker had said: "Rafael Nadal there, what a year he's had. I was thinking in December after he had foot surgery to come back, 'Will we ever see him play well again? Or even play again?' Now look where he is."

Commentat