Rafael Nadal's doctor explains injury plan with key aim to speed up return

Rafael Nadal's doctor has spoken out after the Spaniard confirmed he would be sidelined for 4-6 weeks with a rib injury. The world No 3 picked up an injury during his Indian Wells semi-final and played through it in the final against Taylor Fritz. He is now set to miss the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open but his doctor has admitted they are hoping to shorten his injury layoff period.

Nadal's perfect start to the season came to an end in Indian Wells, as the 35-year-old lost his first match of the year in the final and picked up an injury. The world No 3 appeared to be getting treatment for a pectoral issue in his semi-final win over Carlos Alcaraz and looked hampered by the same problem as he lost the final to first-time Masters champion Taylor Fritz the following day.

After returning to Spain, the world No 3 confirmed he had cracked one of his ribs during the tournament and would be out of competition for 4-6 weeks as a result. His injury layoff means he will not be able to start the clay-court season - his notoriously most successful surface - with the recovery time including the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open, where Nadal is an 11 and 12-time champion respectively.

Prior to the Indian Wells final, the Spaniard was 20-0 for the season, a career-best start, which included titles in Melbourne, Acapulco and a record 21st Grand Slam title in Acapulco. He had been gunning for Djokovic's record of 37 Masters 1000 titles which he would have tied by winning Indian Wells, and could have started chasing the world No 1 in the rankings with some strong showings in the clay-court season.

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But Nadal's doctor has now outlined the plan for