Rafael Nadal before French Open opener about chronic foot injury: “The pain is always there”

In January, the Spaniard was still elated after winning his 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Then last week, the 35-year-old gave a thoughtful outlook on his career as he continues to struggle with chronic pain in his left foot.

“Let’s see how much longer I can keep going – or until my head tells me otherwise – because right now I have to accept that my days are like this,” said Nadal after beating Rome’s ATP Masters in the third round Canadian Denis Shapovalov had lost.

Of course, the superstar knows that his career is finite: “There will come a moment when my head will ask me to stop because I can no longer just think about tennis. That’s my reality.”

There is probably no hope of spontaneous healing. Müller-Weiss syndrome causes spontaneous symptoms in the scaphoid bone, and there is no permanent solution in sight.

Nadal: Give everything as long as possible

“He’s not going away. It’s about whether the pain is severe or whether I’m strong enough to play with real chances or not. It’s something I live with every day so it’s nothing new for me and no big surprise.”