Rafael Nadal's 'incurable' injury has plagued him since 2005 despite incredible success

Rafael Nadal's chronic foot injury flared up once again during his three-set loss to Denis Shapovalov at the Italian Open on Thursday. The world No 4 has been dealing with Mueller-Weiss Syndrome throughout his career and attempting to manage it since 2005, but it kept him sidelined for half of last season and is now bothering him once again.

Nadal was leading 6-1 in his third-round match against the world No 16 on Thursday but started to struggle with his foot midway through the second set, ultimately losing 1-6 7-5 6-2. After suffering defeat, he said: "I am not injured, I am a player living with an injury."

His physical struggles came days after he admitted the foot problem was incurable when a reporter raised concern over his limp following a three-set victory over David Goffin in Madrid last week. "I have a chronic foot injury which has no treatment. That's part of my life," he admitted, referring to his Mueller-Weiss Syndrome.

Mueller-Weiss Syndrome is a chronic pain in the mid-section of the foot which has a big effect on the navicular bone, which in a tennis player is essential for strong movement on the court. It first began to affect Nadal 17 years ago, in his breakout season when he won Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Rome and his first Major title at the French Open.

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Then 18, Nadal first felt something in his left foot during the Madrid Open of that year, which left him struggling to walk. His uncle, former Barcelona footballer Miguel Angel Nadal took the world No 4 to a foot specialist he knew from his time playing for the Spanish club but the problem still went undiagnosed.

The 21-time Major champion opened up on his first diagnosis of