Nadal undergoes foot treatment in race to be fit for Wimbledon

Rafael Nadal is recovering at home after he underwent treatment on his injured left foot on Tuesday, as the French Open champion battles to be fit for Wimbledon.

Nadal has returned to his house in Mallorca, less than three weeks before the start of Wimbledon on June 27.

The 36-year-old said his foot was “asleep” due to injections during his victory over Casper Ruud in the final at Roland Garros on Sunday, a win that secured Nadal his 22nd Grand Slam title.

Nadal then travelled to Barcelona to begin “pulsed radiofrequency stimulation” treatment, a spokesman for the Spaniard said on Wednesday, which is aimed at reducing nerve pain.

The treatment means the nerves around the area of Nadal’s injury will be “temporarily numb”.

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“Rafa is already at home and will spend three or four days doing normal, maintaining, physical activity. Depending on the effect of the treatment, and as long as it’s positive, he will later return to training on the court,” the spokesman said.

“We don’t rule out a second treatment being carried out in the next week.”

Nadal has for years suffered from a problem in his foot called Muller-Weiss syndrome, a rare and degenerative condition affecting bones in the feet.

“I will be there if my body allows it. Wimbledon is a priority, the Grand Slams are a priority,” Nadal said on Sunday, when asked about Wimbledon.

“Playing it with anti-inflammatories, yes; with anaesthesia injections, no.”