French Open: Rafael Nadal won’t play Wimbledon if he needs foot injections

French Open champion Rafael Nadal says he “doesn’t want to keep playing” if he continues to need anaesthetic injections to numb chronic foot pain. Nadal, 36, won his record-extending 14th title at Roland Garros having “no feeling” in his left foot. The Spaniard had multiple injections during a tournament where he won a 22nd Grand Slam title on Sunday.

“It’s obvious with the circumstances that I am playing, I can’t and I don’t want to keep going,” said Nadal. The two-time Wimbledon champion says he would not play at the All England

Club, where the grass-court major starts on 27 June, if a nerve-burning treatment next week cannot solve the issue. Nadal suffers from Mueller-Weiss syndrome – a rare degenerative condition that affects bones in the feet – and was limping at the Italian Open just 10 days before Roland Garros began. “I have been playing with injections on the nerves to numb the foot and

that’s why I was able to play during these two weeks,” Nadal said after his 6-3 6-3 6-0 victory over Casper Ruud.

“I have no feelings in my foot, because my doctor was able to put anaesthetic injections on the nerves. That takes out the feeling on my foot.” He added: “I’m going to be in Wimbledon if my body is ready to be in Wimbledon. That’s it. Wimbledon is not a tournament that I want to miss. I

think nobody wants to miss Wimbledon. I love Wimbledon. “If I am able to play with anti-inflammatories, yes; to play with anaesthetic injections, no. I don’t want to put myself in that position again.” ( BBC)